RWBY: Wolf Pack
by Nightmare 6-4
Summary: The Wolf Pack is a group of Six mercenaries who have banned together as brothers: Carmine, Crimson, Grullo, Keppel, Nightshade, and Onyx. Together they carry out contracts and fight back the forces of evil, they soon discover that their real enemy is a group known as the Grimm Reapers who are basically murder for hire. [This takes place before the events of Titan Rising.]
1. Chapter 1: The Executioners

Chapter 1: Wolf Pack

 **I do not own RWBY, RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum (R.I.P.) nor do I own any media that may appear in the story. I only own the OCs, Enjoy! Remember to leave a Review. *** **This takes place before the events of Titan Rising**

Sunlight crept through the window and illuminated the dark room, shining light onto a man in his bed and a girl with jet black hair lay next to him, she rose up lightly and rested her head on his chest causing him to wake up. "Morning sweetie." The girl said kissing the man, he smiled and wrapped his arms around her "Good morning, Sapphire." The man said as he kissed her, she giggled as they woke each other up "Did you have pleasant dreams, Carmine?" Sapphire asked as she rested her head back onto his chest, he chuckled lightly "I always have good dreams when I'm with you." Carmine said, causing her to blush and smile "You know what to say to make a girl happy, don't you." She said as she rubbed his face, she moved up a little and locked lips with Carmine. He wrapped his arms around her lower waist and pulled her close to him as he kissed her, he broke the kiss and stood up "Sorry babe, if I continue I won't get out of bed." Carmine said as he pulled on his shirt and tossed a bra to her, she caught it and put it on, fixing her breast before pulling on a black shirt.

Carmine opened the door and walked out into the main room, there were rows of lockers to his left filled with weapons and ammo. Keppel and Nightshade sat at a table and ate breakfast, Keppel read the newspaper while Nightshade was texting someone. Sapphire walked out and looked at what Carmine was looking at, he leaned over and whispered into her ear "Would you believe they're the same age." He said causing her to laugh a little, he walked over to the table and placed his hands on the table "What's up, boys?" He asked grabbing their attention, Nightshade put down his fork "Onyx wants to talk to you, someone requested you for a contract." Carmine nodded and made his way to the kitchen, Sapphire sat down at the bar while Carmine fixed breakfast, he sat a plate of eggs, bacon, and pancakes down in front of Sapphire "Here you go, sweetie." He said with a wink as he gave her a glass of orange juice, he walked behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders "I'm gonna talk to Onyx real quick." He said, kissing her on the cheek.

Carmine walked down a hallway and entered the second door on the right, the room was plastered with maps, wanted posters, and weapon diagrams. Onyx sat at the table in the middle of the room and flipped through folders, Carmine sat down next to him "Nightshade said you wanted to talk to me." Carmine said as he sat back in the chair, Onyx nodded and handed him a red folder. Carmine opened it and read the documents "It's an assassination contract on a representative of Sarcoline Dust Company, how much am I being paid?" Carmine asked as he placed the folder down, Onyx pulled out a paper "1.3 Million Lien." Onyx said, Carmine groaned and rubbed his head "Fine, I hate doing these jobs but we need the money." Carmine said as he stood up to leave but stopped "Who requested this contract" Carmine asked, Onyx laughed a little "I thought you weren't gonna ask, they're called Lapis Enterprise and they're partners with Schnee Dust Company, Schnee doesn't want this to come out make them look bad so Lapis ordered the hit." Onyx explained, Carmine sighed "Fucking dust company bullshit, I swear man." Carmine said as he went to get ready.

Sapphire was on the couch watching the news, Carmine sat down next to her "So, you gotta go tonight?" She asked as she played with his shaggy hair, he rested his head onto her chest "Yeah, I'm getting paid good money for this job though so maybe after doing a few more, I can quit this life." He said as he looked up into her sapphire blue eyes, she smiled as she looked into his crimson red eyes. He rested his head on her lap and looked up at the roof in thought, she rubbed his forehead "Go get ready, that guy won't kill himself." Sapphire said causing Carmine to look at her wide eyed, she laughed "I'm just playing, I know that there is a reason for these contracts and by the end of the day, you'll have the answer as to why." Sapphire said as Carmine stood up and went into his room.

Carmine pulled on a pair of Krytec Cargo Pants along with a waist harness, he grabbed a black Molle Vest with multiple pouches on the front of it. Carmine placed it on his bed and pulled a black hoodie out of the closet, he unzipped the front and slipped his arms into the sleeves, zipping it up. He pulled on the Molle vest over the hoodie and clipped the sides of it, he attached his Ka-Bar to his left shoulder and secured the blade into the sheath, Carmine pulled out a pair of black boots and slipped them on, slipping the pants leg over the boots. Carmine walked over to his drawers and opened the first drawer, pulling out a box labeled 'Night Ops' and put it on his bed. He opened the box and pulled out a black balaclava, a pair of Taclite 2 gloves, and a patch with a King Taijitu with a sword through its head. The placed the patch onto his chest and pulled the gloves onto his hands, he turned around and made his way out of his room with the balaclava in his hands.

Crimson walked up to Carmine and secured everything on him "What's your game plan?" Crimson asked as he fixed his sleeves over his gloves, Carmine thought for a moment "I'll probably scout for a bit then set up a position." Carmine said as he walked over to the weapon lockers, he opened a door and pulled out a Remington Semi-Automatic Sniper System with a Bipod, 8x-20x Variable scope, suppressor, and a range finder. Carmine picked up three spare mags, four boxes of 7.62 x 51mm, a Scorpion EVO 3 with a foregrip, suppressor, and FLIR Thermal sight along with a few extra mags and boxes of 9x19mm. Carmine placed everything on the table and began loading the magazines, he finished loading a mag and slapped it into the RSASS. Crimson and Nightshade joined him in loading mags, slipping them into the pouches on his Molle vest, Onyx walked out holding a black Rush24 Backpack and handed it to Carmine "I put in some glow-sticks, a medic pack, a Camelbak water pouch, and a grappling hook to ascend the buildings. Also, there is a pair of range finder binoculars with audio detection and marking system that syncs to your scroll." Onyx explained as Carmine put the backpack on with the RSASS and EVO 3 on his back.

Keppel walked out and placed a map of Sanus on the Table "Right, so your target is located in the city of Vega, about two hours north of Vale. Here's your target, his name is Vesuvius Gingerline. Here's his picture and the details, I'll put it in your backpack." Keppel said as he handed it to Grullo who put it in Carmine's backpack. Crimson reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys, tossing them to Carmine "Take my bike, keep her safe." Crimson said as Carmine caught the keys, Carmine gestured to Sapphire "Keep her safe as well, I'll be back tonight." Carmine said as he walked over to Sapphire and kissed her goodbye.

"I love you, Sapphire." Carmine said as he hugged her, she pulled off her hair scrunchy and placed it on his wrist "To keep me in your mind." She said as she kissed him goodbye, he lifted it up and sniffed it lightly "Smells just like you." Carmine said with a smile, she hugged him "Please stay safe and come back to me, I love you, Carmine." Sapphire said as he kissed her one last time before heading to the door. Nightshade handed him a black helmet with a reflective visor as he opened the door, Carmine walked up to a black Ducati 848 EVO and got onto the bike, starting the engine as he pulled the helmet on. Carmine squeezed the clutch and popped the bike into gear, taking off down the strip and turning onto the highway, Carmine twisted the throttle more and opened the engine up as he sped down the road, weaving in and out of lanes of traffic. Carmine slowly pressed a button on the side of the helmet, the helmet had a built in audio system that started to play music.

 **Danger Zone – Kenny Loggins (Good Ole' K – Log [Archer reference])**

 **Revvin' up your engine Listen to her howlin' roar, Metal under tension Beggin' you to touch and go.**

 **Highway to the danger zone, Ride into the danger zone**

As the music played, Carmine popped the bike up into a wheelie and sped down the highway, various cars honking at him.

 **Headin' into twilight Spreadin' out her wings tonight, She got you jumpin' off the deck And shovin' into overdrive.**

 **Highway to the danger zone, I'll take you Right into the danger zone.**

 **They never say "Hello" to you Until you get it on the red-line overload, You'll never know what you can do Until you get it up as high as you can go.**

As the guitar solo started, Carmine felt the sense of being followed and looked into the mirrors, he saw police lights flashing behind him "Not today, mother fuckers!" Carmine yelled as he shifted gears and took off, the speedometer nearing 115mph

 **Out along the edge Is always where I burn to be The further on the edge The hotter the intensity.**

 **Highway to the danger zone I'm gonna take you Right into the danger zone. Highway to the danger zone Ride into the danger zone. Highway to the danger zone I'm gonna take you Right into the danger zone. Highway to the danger zone Ride into the danger zone.**

As the pursuing police seemed to disappear, Carmine noticed a sign that read 'Vega: 2 Miles, exit 3'. Carmine got into the right hand lane and continued for another mile before taking exit 3 into Vega.

 **Highway to the danger zone I'm gonna take you Right into the danger zone. Highway to the danger zone Ride into the danger zone.**

Carmine parked in the top floor of a parking garage and turned the bike off, he cut the music off in the helmet and rested the helmet on the handlebar. The sun had set and the light poles were kicking on, illuminating the city and her buildings. Carmine climbed off of the bike and turned on the security alarm, locking the bike and grabbing his balaclava from his back pocket, pulling it onto his head and covering his head with the hood. He scanned the area and looked for a good vantage point but looked at the notes to the dossier "It says he'll be meeting someone at a Sarcoline Dust Storage Facility, which should be right…" Carmine said to himself as he scanned the horizon until his eyes rested on building surrounded by shipping containers marked with a black sword and a flame, he looked at the paper again and matched the symbol to the container "Check." He said to himself as he opened his bag to put the paper up, he found a small container with note attached to it 'Put me in your ear.' Carmine chuckled "You're the boss, Mr. Paper." Carmine said as he placed an earpiece into his ear.

"Go for Carmine." Carmine said as he connected to the HQ, Onyx came through the comms "Carmine, we read you loud and clear. Sapphire is here too, we couldn't stop her. She dislocated Grullo's wrist, where did she learn that?!" Onyx asked confused, Carmine chuckled nervously "I taught her that, my bad Grullo." Carmine said apologizing as he walked down the stairs to the street below "Won't the people be scared that I'm armed for war?" Carmine asked as he walked down the street, Keppel spoke into his ear "Most of them will think you're a huntsman so don't worry about it." Keppel said reassuring Carmine as he continued down the street to a large building that overlooked the storage facility, he found an unlock door and entered it, climbing the stairs to the roof. Carmine moved over to the edge and looked at the facility below, he took the rifle off his back and extended the bipod, placing the rifle on the ground next to him.

Carmine opened his bag and dug through it until he found black box on the bottom "Onyx, what is in the box?" Carmine asked, Onyx laughed a little "Just a few claymores, secure your position." Onyx said as Carmine went to work placing them by the door. He returned to the rifle and looked back at the storage facility "I only see a few guards but that's about it." Carmine said as he watched the people with guns in their hands patrol the area. Carmine started humming Smooth by Santana, the song he sang for Sapphire the night he took her out, as he hummed Sapphire came onto the line "Isn't that the song you sang for me on our first date?" She asked which caused him to smile "Yeah, it is." He said as the thoughts of her rushed through his mind "It's one of my favorite songs." Sapphire said as he continued to hum the song but was interrupted by the sound of people talking "Babe, I love you but daddy has to go to work." Carmine said as he sat up and grabbed his rifle, aiming down at the multiple vehicles below.

"Alright, middle aged man with brown hair and is usually smoking, walks with a limp and has a mole on the left side of his face." Carmine said as he read the description and looked at the picture, he looked through the sight and scanned the crowd gathered below "So those are his guards but who are those people?" Carmine asked himself as a group of hooded figures walked up to the Sarcoline representative, they were dressed in white robes with red emblems on their back. "Come in Wolf Pack, can you confirm who the contacts are? There are a few dressed in white robes with red emblems on their backs. Please confirm." Carmine said as he aimed down the scope, he flipped the variable scope to 20x and observed the individuals.

"Note, one has a sword and another has a black bow on, and I'm gonna assume her, head." Carmine said to the HQ, Crimson came through the earpiece "Hey, I'll have you know that I look damn good in a bow, thank you very much." Crimson said with sass, Nightshade could be heard slapping him in the back of the head. "Carmine confirm, does the emblem have three scratch marks through it?" Keppel asked, Carmine looked at the emblem again "Yeah, three claw marks on what looks like a Beowolf head." Carmine said, Onyx came on through the headset "That is the White Fang, they're doing business with Sarcoline. The White Fang is a known terror group so terminate the Representative with extreme prejudice." Onyx said, Carmine grinned slightly "Ten fucking four." Carmine said as he flipped the safety off and took aim at the representative.

Carmine placed the sight on the target's head and pulled back the bolt, chambering a round into the rifle. He took a deep breath and squeezed the trigger, the rifle bumped backwards as a bullet screamed from the barrel into the head of the target. The man dropped to the ground as the hooded figures scattered and ran in different directions as the guards secured the area, Carmine packed up the claymores and his rifle as he made his way back to the motorcycle. "Come in, command. Confirm target, killed" Carmine said as he ran up the stairs and got onto the bike, starting it up and putting on his helmet. As he pulled out of the parking garage, an ambulance sped by with its sirens blaring "Good luck but there's no saving him. Put a fork in him, he's done." Carmine said as he sped off back toward Vale.

 ***Two Hours Later***

Carmine pulled in behind the Wolf Pack HQ and turned the bike off, he pulled the helmet off and carried it inside. "Honey, I'm home!" Carmine said as he placed the helmet on the table, he walked over to the weapon lockers and put the weapons away in their place. Carmine walked into his room and removed his gear, placing it back into the closet and closing the door behind him. As he turned around, he came face to face with Sapphire who was only wearing a sheet and a smile "Hey there, daddy. I've been a bad girl and need to be punished." Sapphire said in a seductive voice, Carmine stopped in his tracks as he saw his busty girlfriend wrapped in a white sheet. Carmine hurried to close the door and lock it, he rushed to get his boots, cargo pants, and hoodie off as he climbed into bed with Sapphire.

 ***Mild NSFW***

Carmine locked lips with Sapphire as he rested his hands on her waist, Sapphire pushed her chest up into his chest as he kissed her. Sapphire pushed him over and straddled his waist, he placed his hands on her breasts and caressed them, pinching her nipples causing her to arch her back "Please, just take me already!" Sapphire begged but Carmine pulled her down and kissed her neck, her blue eyes begged for her lovers embrace. Carmine pushed her over and pinned her arms down "I love you, Sapphire." Carmine said, Sapphire reached over to the nightstand and pulled out a condom "Wrap it up, big boy." Sapphire said with a wink.

 ***End NSFW***

Carmine woke up from his sleep and rolled over wrapped his arms around Sapphire and pulled her into his embrace, she moved his hands up to her breasts "Mmm better." Sapphire said as she slept soundly in his arms, there legs intertwined with each other. They were awoken from their sleep by a loud knocking on the door "Carmine! You got to come see this!" Nightshade yelled through the door, Carmine kissed Sapphire on the cheek and pulled himself out of the bed. He pulled on a pair of gym shorts and exited his room "What's up?" Carmine asked as he closed the bedroom door, Keppel pointed to the TV that was showing the news "Breaking news! Vesuvius Gingerline of Sarcoline Industries has been killed in what some are calling a corporation assassination. Investigators are reviewing security footage and will release a press conference later, the death of Gingerline has led to stocks plummeting for Sarcoline while Schnee stocks continue to rise." The reporter said, Keppel muted the TV and pulled out a tablet.

He pulled up a list with each of their bank accounts, he accessed Carmine's and showed him the transaction came through "Good, I'm not doing another assassination contract ever again. We're mercenaries for a good cause, not to someone's bidding." Carmine said as he walked into the kitchen, returning with a can of Green Bull. "So what contracts we got today?" Crimson asked as he walked Carmine and took the energy drink away from the man, Carmine stared at Crimson as he walked back to the kitchen. Onyx stood up and walked to the planning room, returning minutes later with a couple folders that he sat on the coffee table "So we have a couple of options here: There's a village that has been under siege by the White Fang, that pays 2.5 Million Lien or there's Atlas train that needs an armed escort, it's carrying Dust for the Schnee Dust Company and that pays about 3.5 Million Lien." Onyx explained as Carmine walked back into the room. "I think we should go take care of the village first, there are innocent people who need our help." Carmine said as he sipped his Green Bull, Onyx clapped his hands together "Alright, gear up and get ready to move." Onyx said, the team stood up and went to their rooms to get ready.

Carmine walked into his room and got back into bed with Sapphire, she rolled over to face her lover "Hey you, got to go to work?" She asked, kissing him on the lips, he smiled "Yeah, we're all going to liberate a village that is under siege by the White Fang so we're going to fight them off." Carmine said as he stood up out of bed and picked up his gear off of the floor, he tossed a bra to Sapphire along with a T-Shirt and pants. Carmine opened the closet door and browsed his gear options, he pulled out a black Heavy IBA and put it on over the hoodie, Sapphire stood up and secured the sides for him. Carmine pulled out a black Scorpion Exo combat helmet, he inspected the visor and entire face guard for defects but found none. "Alright, you know where the guns are, right? If you need to contact us, there's a radio on the wall that will reach us." Carmine explained as he got ready, she shook her head "Go ahead, I'll be fine here. This place is like a fortress so I'm safe." Sapphire said as she hugged Carmine, he rubbed her back "You know I'm just worried because of my line of work." Carmine said as he hugged her.

Carmine let go of her and walked out into the main room, turning toward the lockers and opening the one holding assault rifles. Carmine pulled out an HK 416 with an ACOG sight, foregrip, muzzle break, and 50 round mags, he pulled out a few extra mags and put them in the front pouches. He walked over to another drawer and pulled it out, revealing rows of pistols.

Carmine pulled out a Beretta 92fs and slapped in a mag, placing three extra in a pouch on his side and closing the covers. He turned around and came face to face with Sapphire who had a worried look on her face "Please be careful, I can't imagine losing you. Just, please stay safe." Sapphire said burying her face into Carmine's chest, Carmine rubbed her back "I'll be fine, I'll be with my brothers and we're armed to the teeth." Carmine said patting his side holster, she let go of him and walked back into his room. Keppel came out of the briefing room and opened the weapons locker, he pulled out a PSG-1 and slapped a mag into the receiver, he attached an ACOG sight onto the top of the rifle and a muzzle break to the end of the barrel "No .50 cal today?" Carmine asked as he was filling his bag, Keppel laughed a little "No, I don't think I need Charon for this mission." He said as he loaded spare mags, Carmine looked confused "Charon?" He asked questioningly, Keppel stopped loading the mags "Charon is from ancient mythology, he is said to be the one who escorts the souls of the damned across the river Styx in hell." Keppel explained the name of his rifle, Carmine stared in awe "Bro, that is so metal." Carmine said as he put a few hand grenades in his bag, Sapphire walked back out and up to Carmine "Take this with you, so I'll always be with you." Sapphire said as she gave him a balled up piece of fabric, he held for a moment and was about to unfold it but she stopped him "Look at it when you're alone, okay?" She told him, he nodded and put in one of his pockets.

"Alright ladies, drop your nuts and move your butts!" Onyx said as he walked out of the briefing room holding an AK-12 with a foregrip, ACOG sight, and compensator. Grullo followed him carrying an M2 Browning while Crimson carried two boxes of ammo, Sapphire helped Carmine put his backpack on and handed him his helmet "Thanks babe, remember don't open the door for anyone except us." Carmine said as he picked up his rifle and kissed her goodbye, he followed Nightshade out of the HQ to the Humvee and Sapphire locked the door behind them. Carmine climbed up on the back of the Humvee and got into the turret seat, he sat his rifle in the weapons rack to his right and took the M2 from Grullo, setting it in the harness followed by pushing the mounting pin in the bottom. "Catch, numb nuts." Crimson said tossing a box of ammo up to Carmine who caught it and loaded the HMG.

"Give me your bag, bro." Keppel said, taking the bag from Carmine and setting it in the floorboard, Onyx got in the drivers seat and started it up, Crimson took the passenger seat while Nightshade and Grullo took the backseat. Keppel sat in the back by Carmine and kept him company, Carmine banged on the roof and signaled Onyx to go. The Humvee took off down the road and hooked a right down the road to the highway "Alright, we're heading to a small village that fell off the radar, the last we heard from it was that they were being attacked by the White Fang so we're gonna do a little house call." Onyx said through the radio as they passed cars on the highway. Carmine pulled back the bolt on the HMG, chambering a round into the turret gun and readying the gun.

 ***Two Hours Later***

After driving for hours, they turned down a dirt road and made their way to a mountain village, they came to a stop in front of a sign that read 'Komsu' "Is this it?" Carmine asked as they slowly drove into the village.

Buildings were burnt out and smoking, bodies scattered the area and the burnt out store fronts "These look fresh, like they purged the town when they found out we were coming." Crimson said as he looked at the carnage, they turned down a road that lead to the town square and came face to face with a horrific sight. Ten people were dead in the town square, all in a line and executed while there were two children hanging from a tree "What kind of monster would do this?" Carmine asked as he looked at the carnage, there was a scream that came from an alley that caused Crimson, Carmine, and Nightshade to leap from the Humvee and run to the source.

Carmine turned down the alley and found a little boy dead in the alley, Nightshade dropped to the ground to check on the child while Carmine sprinted forward and turned a corner, he heard more screaming as he turned a corner where he found a hooded figure with an A2000 in their hand "Now you're gonna die like the rest of those filthy human scum." The figure said as it raised the weapon "Stop! Don't you fucking move you son of a bitch!" Carmine shouted with his rifle raised, Crimson turned the corner and backed up Carmine "We got you surrounded, just give up." Crimson said as he pointed an 870 MCS at the cloaked woman, she started laughing "Oh, more humans for me to kill: One with a shotgun and one who hides his face behind a mask. This should be fun!" The woman said as she raised the SMG backwards and shot the little girl, "Noooo!" Carmine screamed in anger as he emptied his clip into the woman, her lifeless body dropped to the ground with a thud.

Carmine dropped to his knees and pulled his helmet off, tears streaming down his face as he cried. Crimson sat down against a wall and rested his head against the wall "Man, I guess she's not good with kids." Crimson said, chuckling to himself before he lowered his head in grief, Nightshade turned the corner and came upon the scene, he covered his mouth in disbelief "This is not good, this is so not good. Fuck." Nightshade said as he paced back and forth, Carmine stood up and balled his hand into a fist, striking the wall while yelling in anger but when his fist connected with the wall, an explosion happened and blew a giant hole in the wall. Crimson and Nightshade stared in disbelief while Carmine stared at his hand "Shit, did I do that?" Carmine asked shaking his hand, Crimson walked up and patted his shoulder "Congrats buddy, you got your semblance." Crimson said as he picked up his shotgun, Carmine looked over at the dead woman and saw a glint of something shiny coming from her body "Guys! Check this out." Carmine said as he walked over to the corpse, kneeling down beside it and patting it down.

He reached into a pocket and pulled out a red crystal skull "What is it?" Crimson asked as he looked at it "It's the mark of a Prince of the Grimm Reapers, it's their calling card." Onyx said as he walked up to the trio, Keppel and Grullo followed with a stretcher. They loaded the body of the little girl on to it and carried her away, Carmine lowered his head "I should have shot her on sight, because of me that little girl is dead." Carmine said as he fought back tears, Crimson grabbed Carmine "There was no way we could have known she would have done that, logic would say to go after the more worthy foe but this. I don't know." Crimson said shaking his head, Onyx picked up the A2000 and handed it to Carmine "Put it in your trophy box for the day you came face to face with pure evil and snuffed it out." Onyx said as Carmine took the SMG, Nightshade led Carmine back to the Humvee "Here, I'll operate the turret and you just rest." Crimson said as he got into the turret.

Grullo pointed to the town square to show Carmine "We gave them all proper burials, including the two small children from the alley. We burned the body of that evil woman then buried her face down so her soul may never ascend to the heavens above." Grullo explained, Carmine nodded "Thanks man, it means a lot." Carmine said as he got into the passenger seat.

 ***Two Hours Later***

The Humvee pulled into the back of the HQ and shut off, the sky was black and filled with stars but Carmine kept his head down as he walked inside, he walked over to his locker and put his stuff inside of it, Sapphire bounded the corner happily "Welcome home, honey. Do you want your bath, your dinner, or do you want me first?" She asked flirtatiously but Carmine remained quiet and walked past her into his room, she looked pained as Crimson walked in "Why didn't he say anything to me, usually he would be telling me how much he loves me but this… this doesn't seem like him." She said sitting down on a crate, Crimson sat down next to her "He watched a little girl be killed in front of him, he also found the bodies of three other children. He broke down on the spot so just give him some time." Crimson explained, Sapphire covered her mouth in horror "Poor guy, I hope he'll be ok." Sapphire said to herself, Onyx walked in "He will be, he just needs some time to process it." Onyx said as he drank whiskey straight from the bottle, Carmine could be heard sobbing in his room.

Onyx handed Sapphire another bottle of vodka "Go to him, this should help ease the pain." Onyx said, Sapphire took the bottle and went to comfort her boyfriend in his time of need, she sat down on the bed beside him and cracked the bottle open " This might help." She said to Carmine, he took the bottle and started chugging it, stopping half way through the bottle "Had I just shot the bitch, the little girl would have lived but stupid fucking Carmine HAS to play the fucking hero all the fucking time. How could I fail at saving her, I saw the threat but instead of shooting her on sight, I demanded her to drop the weapon. Next time, no mercy." Carmine said in a drunk slur, Sapphire took the bottle and chugged the rest "There, now we're drunk together and we can pass out, lets try to move on from this tragedy. Now, gimme that dick!" Sapphire demanded as she reached for his pants but Carmine stopped her "Maybe another time, sweetie." Carmine said as he pulled her into his arms, he pulled the covers over them despite him still being in all of his gear.

Onyx turned their light off "Sleep well, Carmine, you earned it." Onyx said as he closed his brother's bedroom door.

 **(A/n: I hope you enjoyed the Wolf Pack chronicles and let me know what you thought of this one, would you like to see more? Remember to Favorite, Follow, and Review and as always, This is Nightmare 6-4, signing off.)**


	2. Chapter 2: Ballroom Blitz

Chapter 2: Ballroom Blitz

 **I do not own RWBY, RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum (R.I.P.) nor do I own any media that may appear in the story. I only own the OCs, Enjoy! Remember to Favorite, Follow, and leave a Review.**

Carmine slowly awoke to the sound of a muffled radio blaring, he grabbed the side of his head in pain "Can I please just die already?" Carmine pleaded as he laid in bed and writhed in agony, someone banged on the door "Wake up, love birds!" Crimson yelled at the door, Carmine stood up slowly and walked to the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Sapphire rolled over and looked at the door, the sound of Carmine vomiting echoed through the room and bounced off the walls. Carmine walked out of the bathroom and crawled back into bed "Please. Kill. Me." Carmine said, pleading for mercy.

Onyx opened the door and rolled Carmine over, thrusting a bottle of unknown liquid toward the rifleman "Drink up, brother." Onyx said as he held the bottle of potential mercy, Carmine looked up at the infantryman and sighed "Is it your special 'Cure All' that you're famous for?" Carmine asked as he took the bottle and opened it, tilting it upward and chugging the contents of the bottle. Sapphire tilted her head confused "Why is it called a cure all?" She asked as Carmine finished the bottle and dropped it to the ground, Crimson walked in and held up three fingers and counted down "Three. Two. One." Crimson said as he counted, when he reached one, Carmine shot up out of the bed and raced into the bathroom, Carmine violently emptied the contents of his stomach into the toilet.

"Fuck You, Onyx!" Carmine yelled as he gasped for air and the flushed the toilet, Carmine stumbled out of the bathroom and grabbed the wall for support, he shook his head and recuperated himself. Crimson tossed him a clean shirt, Carmine caught it and pulled it on over his bare chest "So, what's on the contract board today?" Carmine asked as he grabbed a bottle of mouth wash and rinsed his mouth out, spitting the contents into the sink and setting the bottle back onto the counter. He walked back out and sat on his bed, he stretched his arm and popped his joints in his back, Nightshade walked in and handed him a dossier "Well, I don't think you're going to like this one, this one will require all of us and Sapphire. We have to go undercover at a Gala event that is being hosted by the Schnee's, they fear retaliation from Sarcoline Industries and Lapis incorporated is trying to keep their hands clean." Onyx explained as Carmine flipped through the papers and photos.

Carmine looked back at Sapphire "Well, what do you think?" Carmine asked as Sapphire sat up and covered her breasts with the sheet "Sounds like fun and I know I'll have my strong man here to protect me." Sapphire said as she rubbed Carmine's back with her foot. Carmine looked back up at Onyx "So, what's the payment?" He asked as he reread the document, Onyx sighed and rubbed his neck "Well, Jacques said that we should consider the Gala as payment since 'Lowly dogs don't get into these events' like a fucking dick." Onyx said, quoting the CEO of Schnee Industries. Carmine cradled his head and sighed "Is this guy serious!?" Carmine asked as he sat the document next to him, Onyx shrugged "Hey, we can work it out later. After the Gala is secured." Onyx said as he leaned against the wall.

Carmine stood up and paced the room "What if, after we protect the Gala, we wait for Jacques in his office and then inform him that if we're not paid, then we'll release a memo saying he ordered the hit on Sarcoline." Carmine said as he got an idea "I love it, we'll blackmail the son of a bitch." Crimson said as he rubbed his hands together, Carmine looked over at him "Calm down, we'll take this one moment at a time." Carmine said as passed by the group of mercenaries and entered the main room, the others followed him into the room. Carmine walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge, pulling out a bottle of water "So what is the game plan?" Carmine asked as he chugged the water, Onyx rounded the corner and placed a document on the counter "We have to meet with General Ironwood about this." Onyx said as he pulled out pictures and documents, diagrams of the Schnee mansion and the surrounding area "So they want to set up two flak cannons to protect from air attacks, Ironwood supplied two Oerlikon 35 mm twin cannons for the roof. Keppel will be on the roof with Charon while Carmine, Sapphire, and I will be inside amongst the guests. Crimson and Grullo will be on the Flak Cannons and lastly, Nightshade will be monitoring the security cameras." Onyx explained as Carmine finished his water, tossing the bottle into the recycling bin.

"So what are we looking for exactly?" Crimson asked as he bit into an apple, Onyx turned around and looked at the man who was leaning against the wall "Well, that's the thing, if they do strike back, it would be through another mercenary group but that could be any of them: Mistral's 184th Militants, Viper Legion, The Devil's Disciples, or The Grimm Reapers, I might even go as far as to consider the White Fang as a threat but I don't think Sarcoline would hire a radical group like that." Onyx said as he leaned against the counter, Carmine opened an energy drink and sipped at it as he started making breakfast "Then it's settled, after breakfast we'll fly up to Atlas and set up shop. Nightshade, call in an airship to take us there." Carmine said as he placed pancakes onto a plate, topping them with syrup and a few strawberries. Sapphire walked into the room wearing one of Carmine's shirts "Mmm, smells good." She said as she took a strawberry and popped it into her mouth with a wink, Carmine sighed "You are such a temptress, aren't you." Carmine said as he drank from his energy drink, she giggled and kissed him on the cheek "You know you love me." She said playfully as she got out the pancake batter but Carmine stopped her "I already made you some." Carmine said as he slid over another plate of pancakes, her eyes lit up "Please marry me." She said as she dug into her breakfast, Carmine almost choked on a strawberry when he heard her say that.

Crimson chuckled "I can hear the wedding bells now." Crimson said playfully, Carmine shot him a death glare which made him tense up "Shit, my bad." Crimson said as he slowly left the room, Carmine pulled Sapphire into his embrace which surprised her, causing her to let out a squeak of surprise "EEP! What's up, sweetie." Sapphire asked as she swallowed her food, Carmine held her closely "Shhh, You're just too adorable." Carmine said as he pat her head, she seemed to melt into his arms "You know just how to make me happy." She said as she slipped into cloud nine.

"You know, for a guy who just hurled the entire contents of his stomach into the toilet, I'm surprised that you are eating and not curled up on the bathroom floor." Grullo said as he grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, Carmine looked over at the demolitions expert and grinned "That's because that wasn't my first time having his 'Cure All' and it won't be the last." Carmine said as he let go of Sapphire and continued to eat his breakfast, Grullo walked over to the counter and sat his bottle down "So, what's in it anyway?" Grullo asked, looking Carmine in the eyes, Carmine finished his plate and placed it in the sink, running water over it "Well, I'd love to tell you but even I don't know." Carmine said as he finished off his energy drink, crushing it and tossing it into the recycling bin.

"So what now, honey?" Sapphire asked as she placed her plate into the sink, Carmine scratched the back of his head "Well, if you're going to undercover with me then we have to outfit you with the right gear." Carmine said as he adjusted his shirt, Carmine and Sapphire walked into the Armory where cabinets of weapons, munitions, and armor filled the room, Carmine flipped on the lights on "Here you go, find what fits you." Carmine said as he pulled out a couple of drawers, Sapphire walked over to the first drawer and pulled out a Desert Eagle "This one!" Sapphire said as she stroked the chrome slide, Carmine took it from her and placed it back into the drawer "Covert, not blow the door off of a truck." Carmine said as he picked up an H&K MK23, he checked the mag and replaced it back into the gun "I suggest this one, it has good stopping power and his concealable." Carmine explained as he pulled a holster from the cabinet, he put the pistol into the holster and snapped the strap closed.

Sapphire took the gun from her boyfriend and examined it "It straps to your right upper thigh and will be hidden underneath your dress." Carmine explained as he showed her the strap, Carmine picked up a FN Five-Seven from the drawer of weapons along with a few spare mags and a couple boxes of ammo. Nightshade walked back into the room "Alright guys, an airship will be here in an hour to take us to Atlas." Nightshade announced to the whole room, Onyx walked in and briefed the room "Alright people, gear up and be ready to move out. Sapphire, do you want to come with us?" Onyx asked the girl who was standing next to Carmine.

"I've never been to Atlas before so I would love to go." Sapphire said as she laid her head on Carmine's arm, he wrapped his arm around her. Onyx looked up to his brother and nodded, Carmine nodded back before he escorted Sapphire back to his room to get dressed. Sapphire walked over to the closet and opened the door, she pulled out a black t-shirt along with black Taclite M-65 jacket and a pair of black skinny jeans while Carmine got dressed in his usual gear. Sapphire pulled on a pair of tan Uggs, she jumped off the bed and skipped over to the mirror, she turned around and presented herself to Carmine "So how do I look?" She asked the rifleman, he just stared in awe "You look stunning, I don't even know what to say." Carmine said stuttering, Sapphire squeeled and jumped into his arms "I love you so much." She said as he held her closely to his body.

Crimson walked in and knocked on the door "Yo lovebirds, wheels up in ten." Crimson said as he walked by the doorway, Carmine looked into Sapphire's blue eyes "Well, you ready to sore like an eagle, high above all the problems of the world?" Carmine asked, Sapphire giggled "I'm on cloud nine everytime I'm with you." She said as she kissed him on the lips, Carmine ran his fingers through her hair and kissed her forehead. Carmine turned around and picked his bag up off of the bed, Carmine and Sapphire made their way out of his room to the armory, Carmine opened a cabinet and pulled out a black holster belt, handing it to Sapphire along with her MK23. She fastened it around her waist and tightened it so it secured, she placed the pistol into the holster and snapped the strap closed, Carmine pulled out a SCAR-H with a Foregrip, ACOG sight, and Muzzle Break. He loaded a fresh mag into the receiver and pulled back the bolt, loading a bullet into the rifle from the magazine, he flipped the safety on and placed it onto his back.

"Seven Minutes!" Onyx called into the Wolves' Den, Carmine opened another drawer and pulled out a boot knife, he strapped it to Sapphire's waist "Here, we all have one and if you're going to be in the field with us then you'll need one too." Carmine said, Sapphire couldn't help but smile at her lover. Keppel walked in with Charon in his hands, he sat the sniper rifle against the wall while he grabbed a few spare mags "So, why are we going to a Gala dressed like this?" Sapphire asked confused, Carmine and Keppel chuckled "We're going to scope out the site first before we get ready for tonight, I wouldn't bring a SCAR to a covert event." Carmine said as he filled his bag with supplies, Keppel faced the rifleman "But it does sound like something you would do." Keppel said, pointing a bullet at the man dressed in black.

"The Gala isn't until about 9pm tonight, it's is currently 11am so we have plenty of time." Nightshade said as he entered the armory and opened a cabinet of shotguns, pulling out a M1216 and started loading the quad port tube with buckshot cartridges, he replaced back into the shotgun and cocked it before placing it onto his lower back. Keppel grabbed his rifle and a helmet from the shelf as he left the armory followed by Carmine, Nightshade, and Sapphire; the four people left the Wolf Pack HQ and made their way to the air docks where an airship was waiting to take them to Atlas. As they got closer, the sound of heavy metal could be heard emanating from the back of the airship, Crimson and Grullo loaded a large crate into the back of the airship while Onyx was strapping down another box let was labeled 'Danger'.

Carmine, Keppel, Nightshade, and Sapphire boarded the airship with the rest of the team, the door closed and locked in place to secure the occupants of the VTOL. The airship took off into the air and flew through the sky, the airship experienced slight turbulence as it pierced through the clouds and leveled off "Alright guys, it's going to be about an hour and some change before we get there so get ready in the meantime." Onyx said as he addressed the team, everyone nodded and started to prep their gear some more while Sapphire watched intrigued. Carmine pulled out four empty Five-Seven mags and began loading them, putting the loaded mags into the pouches on the sides of his Heavy IBA, along with a couple extra mags for his SCAR-H into the pouches on the front of his Heavy IBA.

Carmine handed Sapphire a few loaded mags "Here, these go into the side of your holster in those pouches." Carmine said, Sapphire nodded and took them from him and put them in her holster. Onyx walked by and checked everyone but stopped when he reached Carmine and Sapphire "Sapphire, if it comes to it and bullets start flying, I want you to stay behind Carmine and follow whatever he says, okay?" Onyx said, Sapphire nodded "I know my strong man will protect me." Sapphire said lovingly as she rubbed his forearm, Carmine chuckled but stared at the ground. Sapphire looked at him worried but Onyx reassured her "He's mentally getting ready, preparing himself for whatever might get thrown at us." Onyx explained as he gestured to the others who were doing the same, Keppel took a knee and bowed his head as he prayed out loud, the others including Carmine and Onyx took a knee as well as Keppel started to pray.

"Brave warriors, should fate find us in battle, May our cause be just. May our leaders have clear vision. May our courage not falter. May we be triumphant and earn victory as we show no mercy to our enemies. May our efforts bring lasting peace. May our sacrifice be always appreciated by those we serve. May we return to our loved ones unharmed. Should we be harmed, may our wounds heal. Should we perish in the struggle, may the Gods embrace us and find for us a place in their Kingdom. Amen" Keppel said as he prayed for their safety, everyone said 'Amen' as they stood back up.

"Do you always do that before a mission?" Sapphire asked as Carmine sat back down next to her, he nodded "Yeah, it's our ritual that Keppel started when we we're assaulting a White Fang compound up in the north." Carmine explained as he adjusted the sights on his SCAR, Carmine looked over at Crimson who was loading clip into his SG 550 and pulled back the bolt on the side of it. "Crimson, did you bring any dust rounds with you?" He asked the infantryman, Crimson pulled a couple boxes out and tossed a few to Carmine, the rifleman caught a box of fire dust and a box of lightning dust, he placed them in his bag and zipped it back up. "Touch down in ten minutes." The pilot said as they entered Atlas airspace, Onyx walked into the middle of the airship and got everyone's attention while he held an AK-103 "Alright people, we're going to the Schnee mansion so keep your shit together and don't do anything to draw attention to yourselves." Onyx said as he pulled back the bolt on his AK.

As the airship touched down onto the landing pad, the back opened up and revealed the massive Schnee mansion, everyone exited onto the landing pad where a balding man was waiting for the mercenaries "Ah, you must be the Wolf Pack, my name is Klein Sieban. I will take you to meet Jacques, right this way please." The balding man said as he led the mercenaries into the mansion, the halls were all white and the floor was covered in a long, blue rug. Crimson looked around in awe "Man, these are some tight digs. The Schnee family must be loaded." Crimson said which caused Nightshade to smack him in the back of the head "Get your shit together, dumbass." Nightshade said in a hushed tone, Crimson chuckled and put his hands up in defeat.

Klein led the group to a large set of double doors "Mr. Schnee is right through here." The servant said as he opened the door to reveal a large office filled with pictures and other items, a white haired man sat at a desk in the back of the room. The man stood up and walked over to the group "Ah, you must be the Wolf Pack. I'm Jacques Schnee, CEO of Schnee Dust Company." Jacques said as he shook the hands of the members of Wolf Pack.

"So what's this about you scrubbing our pay?" Crimson asked, Jacques chuckled "Yes, dogs of war like yourselves should consider it an honor to attend a Schnee Gala." Jacques said conceitedly, Crimson clenched his fists but Carmine put his hand on Crimson's shoulder "Down boy, I'll handle this." Carmine said as he stepped forward and stared into Jacque's eyes "You see, you're in this situation because you wanted to line your pockets a little more by having a rep from a rival company assassinated and highly suggest you pay us or else a certain contract you put out might get leaked to the public and I don't think you would want that." Carmine said as he threatened the CEO, Jacques gritted his teeth and raised his hand but everyone drew their weapons at the white haired man, Carmine grinned "Do it, make my fucking day." Carmine said in a deep tone, fear flashed across Jacque's face as he lowered his hand and retreated to his desk.

"Alright, you win." The man said as he started to forward money to their accounts, each of their scrolls went off to indicate a transaction was completed "Good, now we're good, that's all you had to do, homeboy." Crimson said as he put his scroll back into his pocket, everyone holstered their weapons as Carmine walked back to the group. Carmine turned back around and faced the CEO who was standing behind his desk but he turned to his team first "So, we happy?" He asked as everyone except Sapphire checked their scrolls, the team nodded to Carmine "Yeah, we're good." Nightshade said as he closed his scroll and put it back into his pocket.

"Alright, now we can get to work." Carmine said as they turned and left the office, Sapphire exhaled a sigh of relief "I thought you guys were going to unload on him." Sapphire said as they walked down the hall, Keppel chuckled lightly "It was our trump card in that meeting, it's very important to have the upper hand in these type of situations. If you hold the upper hand then you can demand anything." Keppel explained, Sapphire nodded but was still a little confused, Carmine patted her on the shoulder "We had no intentions on firing a single bullet, it was all a bluff." Carmine reassured her as they reached the ball room.

Onyx pushed open the double doors and revealed an extremely large room with four chandeliers hanging from the roof, the room had tables that were set in rows to the side which left a large open area in the center of the room. Crimson walked in and looked around the room, he whistled in amazement "Man, these are some sweet digs, son. I wouldn't mind having a place like this for when I retire." Crimson said as walked around the room, Keppel looked up at the balcony and the second floor "A sniper would have a field day up on that balcony, and if say twenty gunners lined the second floor, this room would be a slaughter." Keppel said as he took notes, a group of armed men walked up to the Wolf Pack.

"Hello, we're with Schnee Security. Mr. Schnee told us that you would be the ones coordinating our positions?" The man asked, Keppel nodded and started to deliver his notes "You're going to want to have a roving guard on the second floor, as well as have a couple guards on the balcony. Where are your cameras?" Keppel asked but the man gulped and started to hesitate "Uh…. Well you see…" The man started but Nightshade cut him off "They don't have any! They have no cameras here." Nightshade shouted as he looked around the ballroom.

"Do we have anything that we can use for tonight?" Onyx asked the group, Nightshade pulled his scroll out and typed into it "I think I might have something but I have to visit someone first, my R&D guy, who just happens to be here in Atlas." Nightshade said as he pulled up a picture of a snow globe looking device that glowed red. "What is it?" Onyx asked as he looked at the screen, Nightshade grinned from ear to ear "Just a little something I thought of for our missions, I call them 'The Eyes of God' since I'll see everything with them. They're wireless cameras that I can place anywhere." Nightshade explained as he put the scroll into his pocket, Onyx nodded "Alright, take Crimson and go pick them up. Get as many as you can." Onyx said, Nightshade nodded and took Crimson by the arm as they made their way to meet Nightshade's contact.

Keppel scanned the roof and looked for an opening "Any access to the roof?" Keppel asked the head of security, the head of security nodded and pointed toward a door in the back of the room "Yeah, through that door and up the staircase." The man said, Keppel tapped Carmine on the shoulder and gestured for Carmine to follow him. Carmine nodded and followed the sniper to the door, Keppel opened the door and entered the stairwell with Carmine, as the door closed Keppel stopped on the first step. "What's up?" Carmine asked as he looked up at the sniper, Keppel reached up and removed the helmet from his head; he shuffled his hair and revealed two wolf ears that hid in his shaggy hair.

"What's up with the covert faunus ops?" Carmine asked the man, Keppel shrugged "The Schnee don't like Faunus all too much, with the whole White Fang thing." Keppel explained, Carmine nodded as they continued to ascend the stairs to the roof, Keppel pushed the door open and walked out onto the roof. Carmine walked out and looked across the horizon as wind blew across the rooftop, Keppel stood next to Carmine and observed the scenery, Keppel's wolf ears twitched as the wind hit them "You don't show your ears a lot, why not?" Carmine asked as he looked around the area, Keppel thought for a moment "Eh, my ears are usually hidden amongst my shaggy hair since they're the same color." Keppel explained, Carmine walked over to a large covered object and cut the strap that tied it down.

He pulled the tarp off and revealed an Oerlikon 35 mm twin cannon, there was another covered object that sat parallel to the AA cannon, Keppel cut the strap and revealed an identical Cannon "Well, look at these beauties! This is a fine piece of hardware." Keppel said as he stroked the barrel, Carmine looked around the roof curiously "We're missing spotlights, if they come in with airships at night and have their lights cut off, how will you spot them." Carmine asked, Keppel covered his mouth in thought "Fuck, you think you can make a call?" Keppel asked as he sat on the seat of the AA cannon.

Carmine thought for a moment while he paced back and forth "Uhh, maybe Ironwood could bring some to the roof." Carmine said as he pulled his scroll and called Onyx "What's up, little brother?" Onyx asked through the speaker of the scroll "Well, the AA guns are here but there are no spotlights, you think you could call Ironwood?" Carmine asked his brother through the phone, there was a pause before Onyx spoke back up "Yeah, give me a couple minutes." Onyx said as the call ended. Carmine turned around and walked up to Keppel "Onyx is making a call, we should have spotlights here in the hour." Carmine said as he sat on a case of ammo, Keppel sighed and got out of the AA seat and walked over to the edge of the roof.

He looked out at the road that led into Downtown Atlas, Keppel removed his sniper rifle from his back and extended the bipod, he sat the the rifle down on the edge of the building. Carmine kneeled down and looked out at the road "So you need anything for when you're up here? Energy Drinks? Pillows? Prostitutes?" Carmine asked jokingly, Keppel chuckled "No thanks, I'm married but a few pillows and some eye drops would be great." Keppel said as he laid down and adjusted his sights "Wait, you're married!?" Carmine asked surprised, Keppel laughed as he pulled off his left glove and showed a golden wedding band on his ring finger "Been married for about six years now, I've got a little girl too, her name is Jade." Keppel said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, handing it to the rifleman.

Carmine opened the wallet and saw a picture of a little girl with blonde hair and black wolf ears, she had blue eyes and wore a green dress "She's got your eyes and ears, that's for sure. You have a beautiful family, Keppel." Carmine said as he handed the wallet back to Keppel, the sniper smiled "They're my entire world, I love them so it pains me to stay away for so long." Keppel said with a sniffle, Carmine sat down and crossed his legs "Why do you stay away from them? I'm sure they miss you a lot." Carmine asked, Keppel sighed "The work we do is dangerous and sometimes we're away for long periods of time, I don't want them to get hurt for something I did. Maybe when we get back, I'll take the team to see them, you can even bring Sapphire. I'm sure her and Dahlia would get along great." Keppel said as he rested his cheek on the stock of his sniper rifle.

Carmine patted him on the shoulder and stood up "Call me if anything happens like Ironwood shows up or something." Carmine said as he made his way to the door, Keppel looked back at him and gave him a thumbs up. Carmine opened the door and descended the staircase back to the ballroom, Onyx and Grullo were arm wrestling each other at a table when Carmine walked up to them "What's up, little bro?" Onyx said grunting as he slammed Grullo's arm down onto the table. Onyx jumped up out of the chair he was in and fist pumped into the air, he regained his composure and turned around to face his brother "Did you know Keppel was married?" Carmine asked, Onyx nodded "Yeah, he likes to keep it under wraps and on the down low. We have it set up so that in the case of his death, a fund of 2.7 Million will be given to his family for them to carry on. After every contract, 10% of his pay is put into an account for them." Onyx explained, Carmine nodded as he leaned up against the wall.

Nightshade and Crimson walked back into the ballroom carrying two crates marked "God's Eye" "What's good, fuck faces?!" Crimson said as he sat the crate down on the table and removed the lid, he pulled out a globe looking object and sat it on the table. Nightshade walked up and sat down the other crate "Ladies! I present to you, the Eye of God." Nightshade said as he pulled out another globe object, Crimson pointed to the side of the crate "Wait, this says God's Eye not the Eye of God." Crimson said as he faced Nightshade, Nightshade sighed "God's Eye, Eye of God, it's the same thing." Nightshade said annoyed, Onyx walked over and looked at the crates of Cameras.

"So, how many do we have in total?" Onyx asked as he picked one up, Nightshade scratched his head as he thought "Ballpark estimate? Around forty." Nightshade said as he cracked his knuckles, Onyx clapped his hands together "Alright, let's get them set up." Onyx said as he picked up a tray and started filling it up with wireless cameras, Carmine, Nightshade, Crimson, and Grullo followed suit. Sapphire followed Carmine as he left to go set up the cameras, Carmine pulled up a chair and stepped up onto it, he peeled off the cover and stuck the camera onto the wall above a set of double doors. He handed one to Sapphire and pointed at the 2nd floor "See if you can put it on the roof, peel the back off and toss it up onto the roof, the domes should be very durable so don't worry about it breaking." Carmine said, Sapphire jogged up the stairs and peeled the back off of the camera, she tossed the camera up onto the roof. The camera stuck to the roof and activated, the lens turned red as it scanned the room.

"Babe, it's on!" Sapphire yelled through the room, Carmine looked back and shot her a thumbs up. 'I wonder?' Carmine thought to himself as he picked up another camera and peeled the back off, he drew his arm back and threw the camera up toward the roof. The camera turned midair and stuck to the roof, Carmine pulled out his scroll and called Nightshade "Go for Nightshade." Nightshade said as he answered the phone "Will these cameras automatically stick to the roof? Like the adhesive is surface magnetic?" Carmine asked, Nightshade sighed "Shit, I knew I forgot something." Nightshade said as the call ended, Carmine shook his head as he grabbed another cameras and chucked it across the room, the camera flipped in midair and stuck to the wall. After an hour, twenty cameras were placed onto the walls and roof, Sapphire rejoined Carmine on the ballroom floor as Onyx, Crimson, Nightshade, and Grullo rejoined them on the floor.

Nightshade pulled out his scroll and tapped into the cameras "Cams one through ten are good, I have a clear view of the ballroom, the 2nd floor, outside, and the halls. Eleven through twenty has a clear view of the rest of the building." Nightshade said as he cleared the cameras, Crimson sat down at a table with Grullo who was tapping on the table. Carmine felt his scroll vibrate in his pocket, he pulled it out and answered it "Ironwood is here." Keppel said through the speaker, Carmine closed his scroll and made his way to the roof. Carmine pushed the door open and walked out onto the roof as a MH-47 Chinook flew overhead and circled around the mansion, the Chinook flew above the roof and slowly landed. The back opened up and a group of soldiers pushed out three large spotlights, Carmine directed them where to place them and set them up. A man in a white suit walked out of the Chinook and towards Carmine, he had black hair that was gray on the sides with thin white streaks going through them.

The man extended his hand toward Carmine "You must be Carmine, my name is General James Ironwood. I lead the Atlas Military and I am the headmaster at Atlas Academy." Ironwood said as he shook Carmine's hand "Good for you, you want a medal?" Carmine said sarcastically, Ironwood narrowed his eyes "Anyway, here are the lights you requested. Is there is anything else you might need, just call and I'll send someone over." Ironwood said before he walked back into the Chinook. The Chinook's rotors spun back up as it slowly lifted back up into the sky and flew off into the horizon "Well, this should solve the problem." Keppel said as he flipped the spotlight on then back off again, Carmine leaned against the wall and crossed his arms "Nervous?" Keppel asked as he walked over to the rifleman, Carmine looked up at the sniper and nodded.

"I want to do this job but I also want to keep Sapphire safe and keep her from any danger." Carmine said as he scratched his head, Keppel rubbed his shoulder in solidarity "She'll be fine, man. She'll be protected by six of the best mercs in all of Remnant as well as a mercenary whose semblance is fucking explosions." Keppel said as he made an explosion cloud with his hands, Carmine chuckled lightly as he raised and looked at his hand, Keppel grabbed his wrist and twisted it "You want to do some semblance training after this?" Keppel asked, Carmine nodded as he took his hand back. Carmine pushed himself off of the wall and made his way back to the door "Alright, Sapphire and I are going to go get ready for tonight." Carmine said as he opened the door and made his way down the staircase to the main floor, Crimson was sitting at a table and was writing words down while he was singing to himself. Nightshade was sitting next to him and was giving him pointers "Alright, how about this: 'Climb into the ring for a battle that you can't win, swing as hard as you can swing, it will still mean nothing. Should've seen it coming it had to happen sometime, but you went and brought a knife to an all out gun fight' How does that sound?" Crimson asked as he put the paper down onto the table.

Carmine walked up to them and sat down at the table "What are you writing, Crimson?" Carmine asked as he cracked his knuckles, Crimson slid the paper across the table "I'm working on a song but I can't get it right." Crimson said as he laid his head down onto the table, Carmine picked up the paper and read it to himself, mouthing the words as he sang it to himself. "It's good, just needs more verses and a chorus then you should be good." Carmine said as he slid the paper back over, Nightshade thought for a moment "Wait, you sing right, Carmine? Onyx and I can play guitar, Grullo knows how to play the drums and Crimson has got the vocals and bass down so if we can find out what Keppel can play then we can form a band!" Nightshade said enthusiastically, Carmine started laughing "Man, where is this coming from?" Carmine asked as he slowly stopped laughing, Nightshade looked at him seriously "Bro, we all have a talent that isn't taking the life of another person and I think we should persue it as well as do our jobs." Nightshade said, Carmine nodded as all the laughter left his body.

Onyx joined them at the table and pulled out a chair "What's up guys, what we talking about?" Onyx asked as he looked around the table, Carmine looked around the room "Hey, where's Sapphire?" Carmine asked as he looked around the empty room, Onyx looked over to his little brother "I thought she was with you." Onyx said confused, Carmine shot up out of his chair and was about to go search for her when a large set of double doors opened up and Grullo and Sapphire entered the ballroom "Sapphire, I thought someone abducted you." Carmine said as he ran over to her and wrapped his arms around her body, she giggled "No sweetie, I just had to go to the bathroom so Grullo escorted me there." Sapphire explained, Grullo bowed his head.

Carmine and Sapphire joined the others at the table, Carmine leaned against the wall and Sapphire rested her back into Carmine's chest, he wrapped his arms around her waist. "Nightshade was just thinking that we should start a band so we can make money without killing so much." Onyx said, Grullo nodded "Well, I'm in." Grullo said, Crimson raised his hand while he kept his face down on the table, Carmine nodded "Yep, I'm down." The rifleman said in agreement, Nightshade clapped his hands together "Well, looks like we're in agreement." Nightshade said happily.

Onyx pulled out his scroll to check the time but stopped when he saw that it was 6pm "Shit! Carmine, we have to go get ready for tonight, let's go!" Onyx said as he shot out of his chair, Carmine and Sapphire followed him out "Alright guys! Hold down the fort while we're gone." Carmine said as he followed Onyx out the door with Sapphire behind him, They made their way to the landing pad and boarded the airship "Alright, we need to get back to Vale ASAP!" Onyx said to the pilot, the pilot nodded and started up the airship. The VTOL took off into the sky and rocketed toward Vale, Onyx sat back and sighed "How did I let time slip away from me?" Onyx said as he rested his head against the wall, after an hour of flying the airship landed at the airdocks in Vale.

Onyx, Carmine, and Sapphire took off toward the Wolf Pack HQ, Onyx unlocked the door and the three entered the building. Carmine and Sapphire entered his room while Onyx went to his own room "Here, you can shower first. I'll get your dress ready while you take a shower." Carmine said as he opened the closet door while Sapphire entered the bathroom, Carmine pulled out a pair of black dress pants along with a black dress shirt, Carmine poked his head out of his room and called down the hall "Hey Onyx! Blazer or no Blazer?" Carmine yelled down the hall, Onyx yelled back "Blazer!" Carmine groaned and closed his door, he reached into the closet again and pulled out a black blazer. He laid everything out onto the bed and striped his gear off, setting it down in the corner.

Sapphire walked out with a towel wrapped around her body, the towel squeezed against her medium-large bust and hugged to her waist. Carmine couldn't help but stare, Sapphire saw him staring "You like what you see, big boy?" She asked seductively as she pressed her body against his bare chest, Carmine pressed his lips against hers as she wrapped her arms around his back, she broke the kiss "Go get a shower." She said as he she pushed him toward the bathroom, Carmine got into the shower and cleaned up. He exited the shower and walked back into his bedroom, Sapphire was wearing a skin tight black dress with sleeves that came down her elbows and a pair of Six Inch black heels "Well, how do I look?" She asked as she turned around, her heels clicked on the hardwood floor. Carmine dropped his towel as he stared in disbelief, Sapphire giggled as she looked at her naked boyfriend, he quickly grabbed a pair of boxers from the drawer and pulled them on.

"You look stunning, I'm a lucky man." Carmine said as he grabbed his dress pants and pulled them on, Sapphire walked into the bathroom and started to curl her hair while Carmine got dressed. "Hey, why is your jacket so heavy?" Sapphire asked as she finished curling her hair and started do apply her makeup "It's Kevlar lined all around the jacket." Carmine explained as he pulled on his dress shirt and tucked it into the pants line. As he started to put his shoes on, there was a knock at the door, Carmine stood up and opened the door "What's up?" Carmine asked as he opened the door, Onyx stood there in an all black suit with a white tie.

"You almost ready little bro?" Onyx asked as he popped a clip into a P226 and put it inside his jacket pocket, Carmine grabbed his jacket and pulled it on over his shoulders, buttoning up the front. He turned around and faced the bathroom "Babe, are you ready?" Carmine asked as he walked over to the dresser and sprayed on some cologne, Sapphire walked out of the bathroom and picked up her purse. "Alright, I'm ready." She said playfully as she squeezed his shoulder.

Carmine led her out of his room and over to the weapons locker, he slid a drawer out and pulled out a Walther PP, placing it onto the table followed by a box of .380 ACP bullets "Put this in your purse and make sure the safety is always on except for when you're ready to use it." Carmine said as he loaded the clip and popped it into the pistol, handing it to Sapphire who put it in her purse. Carmine loaded two more clips and gave them to his girlfriend, she put them into her purse, Carmine pulled out a MP7 and slapped a clip into the gun, pulling back the bolt on the side of the SMG. He put the gun into the pocket of his jacket and put his Five-Seven into his other inside pocket "Alright, I'm ready." Carmine said as he closed the drawers and walked out into the main room, Sapphire followed him as they left the building and made their way back to the airship.

The VTOL flew through the sky as it made its way back to Atlas, Onyx pulled up his pants leg and adjusted a sheathed knife, he pulled out another one and handed it to Carmine. Carmine strapped it to his right ankle and covered it with his pants leg, he sat back and wrapped his arm around Sapphire's shoulder and she rested her head onto his shoulder. "ETA: 5 minutes." The pilot said the airship flew through the sky, Onyx sat forward "Alright, we need to mix and mingle amongst the guest and look out for anything that might be percieved as a threat." Onyx explained as they approached their destination.

Carmine pulled out his Five-Seven and pulled back the slide, chambering a bullet from the clip before he placed it back into his jacket. The airship touched down at the mansion and the back ramp lowered down to the ground, Carmine and Sapphire stood up and followed Onyx from the airship to the mansion.

A guard opened the door and guided them inside, Onyx took three glasses of champagne from a server who was walking around the ballroom and gave one to both Carmine and Sapphire. Sapphire sipped from the glass "Mmm, fruity." She said savoring, Carmine looked at the glass and sipped from it "Mmm, alcohol." Carmine said sarcastically, Sapphire giggled at his mannerisms as they moved into the crowd. Carmine pulled her close to him as they slowly pushed through the crowd of people, men and women moved out of the way as Carmine pushed deeper into the mass of people. Carmine reached into his pocket and pulled out an earpiece, placing it into his ear "Carmine and Sapphire are in place." Carmine said as he spoke into his wrist mic, his earpiece clicked on "Crimson in place. Grullo in place. Keppel in place. Nightshade in place. Onyx in place." All the members of Wolf Pack checked in to their positions.

Carmine placed his hand on Sapphire's waist and his other hand into her hand, they moved slowly as they joined the dancing crowd and disappeared amongst the other guests. "I'm glad you brought me out here, I love spending time with you." Sapphire said lovingly, Carmine smiled as he spun woman he loved around and brought her back into his embrace. She spun herself and wrapped his arm around her waist, she exhaled and looked up into his crimson red eyes, their love for each other radiated in each other's eyes. The lights dimmed down as Jacques walked out onto the stage and walked up to the microphone, everyone stopped moving and faced the stage as Jacques spoke "I would like thank everyone from coming out tonight, it's a shame about what happened to the representative from Sarcoline. We are deeply saddened by this tragedy." Jacques said as he spoke to the crowd, Carmine rolled his eyes as Jacques continued to speak "But we cannot let a tragedy suppress our joy and happiness, so let's keep our spirits high and merry." Jacques said as he toasted the crowd.

The couples on the main floor resumed dancing together, Sapphire rested her head onto Carmine's chest as they danced slowly together "So, what are we looking for? Threat wise." Sapphire asked as they moved around in circles, Carmine looked around the room until he found his older brother standing in the corner. "Onyx is scoping out the crowd and if he sees anything, he will give us a signal or radio me." Carmine said in a hushed tone, Sapphire nodded slightly as Carmine shifted his hands to her lower back. Carmine's earpiece clicked on as Onyx started talking into Carmine's ear "Hey, is it me or does it seem like there is more security guards here than what we ordered. We told them fifteen guards, I count thirty – two guards in total." Onyx said, Carmine looked around and noticed a couple guards that had tattoos on their necks.

Carmine took Sapphire by the hand and led her over to an empty table, he pulled out a chair and sat her down "Alright babe, I got to take care of something, the pistol is in your purse but don't pull it out unless you feel like you're in danger." Carmine said before kissing her on the lips, he turned around and walked through the crowd toward a couple of guards that were standing next to a door marked 'Security'. As Carmine approached the door, one of the guards stepped forward and extended his hand "Sorry sir, this area is off limits, please return to the party and enjoy yourself." The guard said sincerely, Carmine chuckled as he approached them.

"It's alright guys, I'm with the security team." Carmine said as he walked closer, the guard opened one side of his jacket and revealed a Glock 23 in a holster "Are we gonna have a problem, sir?" The guard asked, Carmine unbuttoned his jacket and showed a holstered MP7 "I don't know, are we?" Carmine asked sarcastically, the guard started to reach for his pistol but Carmine withdrew his faster and thrusted it into the man's crotch while he whispered into his ear "You sure you want to make that move, I don't think your boys will be happy if you did." Carmine said as he tapped the man's crotch with the suppressor of his FN Five-Seven.

The man gulped and moved his hand away from the holster, Carmine opened the door and pushed the man inside the room, he pulled the door closed behind him. Nightshade was standing in front of a wall of monitors that displayed the ballroom and the second floor, Carmine sat the guard down into a chair and pushed the gun into his chest "So, who do you work for?" Carmine asked the man, he looked at Carmine in the eyes "I'm not telling you shit." The man said, Nightshade walked over and pulled the collar of his shirt "Look here, the answer is right in front of us." Nightshade said as he showed a tattoo of a skull with horns and two snakes in the eyes.

"So The Devil's Disciples huh, what do they want?" Carmine asked as he ripped open the man's shirt, revealing a chest covered in tattoos of skulls and demons, the man chuckled a little as Nightshade walked over to the monitors "Uhh Carmine, you should come look at this." Nightshade said as he pulled out his pistol and pointed it at the man in the chair. Carmine walked over and looked at the screens and saw multiple guards with tattoos on their necks, the bartender had two King Taijitu coiled around his wrist and ran up his arm "So, The Devil's Disciples and Viper Legion, seems like whoever ordered the hit wanted to make sure it was done right." Carmine said as he holstered his pistol. The man in the chair laughed again "The funny thing is, our buyer told us to send a message, so have fun tonight." The man said as he moved something in his mouth and bit down, he started to shake as foam seeped from his mouth and his eyes rolled into the back of his head."

Carmine pushed him to the floor and dragged him into the corner "Was that…" Nightshade started to ask but Carmine cut him off "Yeah, Cyanide. These fuckers mean business." Carmine said as he activated his radio "Attention Wolves, Viper Legion and Devil's Disciples are working together. Consider all persons with snake, skull, or demon tattoos hostile starting now, they most likely have Cyanide tablets so taking them alive is not an option." Carmine said as he spoke into his wrist mic.

Nightshade picked up his shotgun and cocked it "Alright, I'll get prepped and ready for your word. But in the meantime, I'll watch the cameras." Nightshade said as he leaned against the wall and watched the screens, Nightshade slowly leaned toward the monitors and looked at the feed of the bar as Carmine was about to leave the room "Hey Carmine, check this guy out." Nightshade said as he pointed at the bartender on the screen. Carmine walked over and looked at the man on the screen "Look at his arms." Nightshade said as he leaned against the wall, Carmine looked down and saw the man's arms. There were two King Taijitu running up his arms and under the sleeves "The bartender is with Viper Legion." Carmine said as he backed up from the screen. Carmine left the security room and made his way back through the crowd toward Onyx who was standing by the wall, Carmine stood next to him and spoke in a low tone "The bartender is with Viper Legion, he has two Taijitu tattoos on his forearms. Last time I checked, Schnee doesn't hire guards or staff with exposed tattoos, ours are covered so that's why we're the exception," Carmine said as he informed his brother.

"Let's go get a drink." Onyx said as he made his way to the bar, Carmine followed him up to the bar. "What can I get for you gentlemen?" The bartender asked the two brothers "Jameson double on the rocks and Vodka 151 proof." Onyx said as he leaned against the bar, the bartender went to work making the drinks. Onyx looked over to his brother and nodded, Carmine nodded back "So who is this contact from Viper were supposed to meet up with?" Carmine asked in a hushed tone, the bartender sat the drinks down and leaned toward the two men "Are you with The Disciples?" He asked with a hand under the bar, Onyx rolled up his sleeve a little and revealed a tattoo of a skull with horns and a bullet hole in its head.

The bartender looked around and leaned a little closer "Alright, some members of Viper are scattered through the crowd and security team along with the other Disciples, a Devil kill squad is on their way as well. I think there might be a few members from Wolf Pack here so be careful, if all goes right we'll leave with Jacques executed and the Schnee heiress as collateral." The Viper merc explained as he made another drink for a patron. Carmine nodded as he mentally took down the information, the lights dimmed down again as young woman took the stage, she had her white hair in a ponytail and she wore a white and blue dress, she walked up to the microphone.

Carmine downed his whiskey in one motion and moved away from the bar, he looked back at the bartender and nodded as he ascended the staircase to the second floor. Carmine walked slowly as he made his way to the balcony area where Jacques was sitting, a large man in a black suit stood by the door and held an UZI with a suppressor in his hands. He held his hand up as Carmine got closer "Sorry sir, this area is off limits." The guard said, Carmine looked at the gun and tapped his foot as he shifted his weight to his left leg "That's a lot of firepower for one guard and aren't there supposed to be two of you here." Carmine asked, the guard cocked the Uzi "If I were you, I would leave while I still can." The guard warned the man as he turned to open the door to the balcony, Carmine looked at the man's neck and saw the tip of a set of horns.

"I thought so, Disciple." Carmine said, the man turned around to confront Carmine "What did you say…." The man started to ask but was cut off by Carmine who punched the man in the throat, the man dropped to his knees and grabbed his own throat as he gasped for air, Carmine slid the Uzi away from the man as he slowly passed away. Carmine picked the Uzi up and unscrewed the suppressor and slipped it into his pocket before he entered the balcony, he tapped Jacques on the shoulder who looked over to him angrily "What do you want?!" He asked in a hushed shout, Carmine showed him the Uzi "Your guard was about to empty this clip into you before they kidnapping your daughter and slaughtering the crowd." Carmine said, Jacques went pale at the thought of his daughter being taken from him.

"I need to get you out of here, now." Carmine said as he grabbed Jacques by the arm and pulled him into the hall, he reattached the suppressor and made his way down the hall with Jacques in tow. Carmine aimed the submachine gun down the hall as he slowly moved toward the door that led to the roof, he pushed the door open and dragged Jacques up the stairs to the roof. Carmine knocked on the door three times and slammed his fist against it once, Crimson pulled the door open and looked at Carmine "What's up, bro?" Crimson asked curiously, Carmine pulled Jacques onto the roof and the open air.

"You guys babysitting this fuck? His own guard almost popped him." Carmine said, handing the Uzi to Grullo who pulled the clip from the gun and ejected the bullet from the chamber. "Yeah, we'll watch this little boy. Who's a big, strong man? You are, yes you are." Crimson said in a tone of voice similar to talking to an infant, Jacques growled and walked over to one of the air ducts, Grullo walked over to him and forced him onto the ground "You're too exposed, a sniper could take your head off in a second." Grullo said as he lightly patted the Schnee on the cheek.

Carmine and Crimson hugged each other "It's about to get loud down there, we'll send other high value individuals up here with an escort." Carmine said as he made his back to the door and down the stairs, Carmine opened the door and walked out onto the main floor. He looked around the room at all the people who were watching the young woman on stage sing, Carmine made his way back to the table where Sapphire was sitting. She sipped from a martini glass as Carmine sat down next to her, she looked at him and winked "Hey there stranger, who are you with tonight?" She asked cutely.

Carmine moved closer to her "Things are going to get heavy, I need you to go into the Security room with Nightshade or up onto the roof with the guys, your choice but we need to move now." Carmine said in a hushed tone, Sapphire was about to say something when the sound of gunshots rang out through the room. Carmine shot up and turned toward the source of the gunshots, ten men in black body armor and red facemasks with black horns stood there with Assault Rifles, SMGs, Shotguns, and LMGs "We want Jacques Schnee! We also want the heiress, Weiss Schnee!" One of the Devils said as he fired into the air, the crowd screamed in horror as they fell to the floor in fear.

A couple security guards ran out onto the main floor with rifles in hand but were quickly cut down by the Devils, the bartender pulled a shotgun out from under the bar and pointed it around the room. Carmine used the commotion as cover to get Sapphire out of the situation, he led her over to the door and opened it "Once you get there, knock three times and bang on it once. Crimson will open the door for you, stay down." Carmine said as he kissed her before he closed the door behind her.

Carmine looked over to the stage and saw Weiss Schnee standing there petrified, Carmine sprinted up onto the stage and took Weiss by the hand "Let's Go!" Carmine yelled as he dragged her backstage, he slammed the door behind him and locked it. He took her by the arm and led her down a hall, he pulled his MP7 out of his jacket while he moved the heiress, Weiss started to struggle against Carmine "Get off of me! Do you know who I am?" She said as she pulled her hand free from Carmine, he turned around and looked her in the eyes "Do you know who they are? They're The Devil's Disciples and that is a kill squad, they're going to slaughter everyone unless they kill your father and get their hands on you. I suggest you listen to me since I am your only hope at surviving this." Carmine said angrily

Weiss looked visibly shaken by his words, Carmine turned around and continued walking down the hall with Weiss silently in tow. "Do you have anywhere safe you can hide? A panic room or reinforced armory?" Carmine asked as he checked the corner, aiming the SMG down the hall "Uhh, I should be safe if I can get to my room." Weiss said as she followed Carmine, Carmine stopped when his radio started going off "Bro, where are you?!" Onyx asked through the radio as gunshots rang out in the background "I'm getting the heiress out of here, I'll be back asap." Carmine said into his wrist mic, the audio crackled as Onyx started to speak again "Alright, get back here fast, four people are dead." Onyx said, Weiss covered her mouth in disbelief.

"D…Dead?!" She asked in a shocked tone of voice, Carmine nodded "Yeah, I told you these guys don't fuck around and will kill whoever get in there way." Carmine said as he opened another door, a man with red and black ballistic vest walked down the hall with a shotgun in hand. Carmine walked out and pointed his gun at the man "Show me your arms!" Carmine demanded, the man turned around and held his shotgun up at Carmine. Carmine pulled the trigger and fired seven rounds into the man, three bullets hit him in the neck and head. The man fell to the ground like a sack of rocks, Carmine moved over to him and kicked the gun away from him "There, grab his pistol and keep the safety on." Carmine said, Weiss reached down and pulled a P226 from the holster on the dead man's side.

"How do we get to your house?" Carmine asked as they walked down a corridor, Weiss looked around the hall and pointed to hall on the right "Down that hall and to the left." Weiss said as she followed Carmine, he took the right hall and moved toward the end of the corridor. Carmine sprinted over to the door and cracked it open, he looked around the room until he saw Klein "Klein! Klein! I need you to get her out of here!" Carmine said as led Weiss into the main house, Klein looked at him confused "But Miss Schnee is upstairs." Klein said confused, Carmine's eyes went wide as he heard the words from Klein's mouth "Klein, keep her safe. Heiress, go with him." Carmine said as he walked upstairs and toward a door that was cracked open, he pushed the door open and stepped inside the room, there was a girl with white hair sitting on the bed "Who are you and what do you want?" Carmine asked, the girl stood up and walked over to the mirror where she started to brush her hair "We want the girl and we want Jacques to pay for what he's done to us." The girl said, Carmine stepped forward a little "Quit fucking around, who the hell is us?" Carmine asked angrily, the girl turned around and looked at the rifleman who had white eyes that turned blue.

She stroked her hair and it shifted from white to black, she turned around and looked at the wall "So Mr. Man, what are you doing here?" The woman asked, Carmine walked forward and grabbed her shoulder, turning her around. When the woman turned around, he came face to face with Sapphire who stood in front of him, Carmine stepped backwards slowly "Who? What the hell are you?" Carmine asked confused, she started chuckling "I go by many names but everyone calls me Loki." The woman said as she morphed into another form, her hair changed from black to silver and her eyes changed from blue to green "So you're a faunus." Carmine said while he gripped his MP7 as she turned around and flipped her hair out of face "Did you figure it out already, honey?" The Faunus asked sarcastically while she sat on the edge of the bed, Carmine sighed and leaned against the door frame "What do you want?" Carmine asked annoyed.

"Well, the Schnee sit in their ivory tower and look at the world below, like it just doesn't exist to them, well that ends tonight." The woman said, Carmine chuckled lightly at her statement "Do you really think that will change anything? It will just perpetuate the cycle of violence between humans and Faunus, innocent blood will be shed for a false cause." Carmine said as he stood up from the wall. The woman reached into her pocket and pulled out a canister "The name is Opal by the way." Opal said as she pulled the pin from the canister and tossed it to the ground, Carmine shielded his eyes as it exploded into a brilliant flash of light.

As the sense of vision came back to Carmine, he looked back into the room and saw that Opal was gone. Carmine put the MP7 back into the pocket of his jacket and turned around to leave down the stairs, he walked down the stairs and came face to face with Klein who stood in the middle of the room "Miss Schnee is safe with her saber and her guards, she wants to extend her thanks to you." Klein said as he held up a briefcase of dust vials. Carmine bowed his head and took the briefcase from the butler, Klein opened the door for the rifleman and guided him back into the corridor. Carmine sprinted down the hall and hooked a right before hooking another left, he picked up his speed to a point he almost stumbled as he neared the door to the ballroom.

He kicked the door open and walked out on stage, the ten Devils stood spread out around the ballroom with everyone face down on the ground "Hey assholes!" Carmine shouted, the masked militants turned their attention to Carmine who stood on the stage, Onyx slowly moved over to the bartender "Hey man, gotta extra gun?" Onyx whispered to the bartender, he nodded and handed him a stockless shotgun and box of shells. Onyx loaded the 12 gauge and shoved the rest of the shells into his pockets, Onyx reached into his jacket and pulled out his P226, he clicked the hammer back and shot the bartender in the head. The man collapsed to the ground and unclenched his gun which clattered across the ground, a couple militants took aim at Onyx who leaped across the bar and took cover from a hail of bullets that chewed through the bar.

Nightshade bursted through the door and out into the ballroom "Get fucked!" Nightshade yelled as he unloaded a buckshot into a militant and followed it shooting another in the throat with his M9, he ran over to a pillar to dodge another barrage of gunfire the chewed into the marble pillar. Carmine leaped off the stage and sprinted toward the bar, he leaped over the bar top and landed onto of the dead bartender, Onyx picked up the shotgun and handed it to his brother along with a few shells. Carmine loaded the shotgun with a couple shells and cocked the slide "Nightshade, you hit?" Carmine asked through his wrist mic, the earpiece crackled as he responded "Nah, I'm good. Let's get these bitches." Nightshade said, Carmine looked over to Onyx and nodded, Onyx nodded back.

The two brothers leaped over the bar and engaged the Devils, Carmine pulled the trigger and hit a militant in the gut, the buckshots tore through the kevlar and into the man's guts. He collapsed to the ground as Onyx shot another in the side and followed it with another shot to the chest, Nightshade ran from behind the pillar and shot two militants in the chest. Carmine dropped the shotgun and pulled out his MP7, he switched it to full auto and engaged the rest of the militants, Carmine squeezed the trigger and hit one of the Disciples in the head, the bullet ripped through the mask and ripped through his head.

"There's three left, come on guys!" Carmine said as he reloaded the MP7, he pulled back the bolt on the back of the SMG; Onyx walked over to his brother and looked toward the stage where three armored militants stood holding LMGs. Nightshade walked over to the two brothers and looked toward the stage "So, should we run?" Nightshade asked, the three Disciples nodded as they raised their LMGs. Nightshade ran forward and held his hands up "HOLD UP! HOLD UP! STOP!" Nightshade yelled, the three Disciples lowered their LMGs "What?!" One of the Devils asked annoyed, Nightshade pulled one of the patrons off of the floor "Can we get these people out of here? No innocent bloodshed is needed." Nightshade said, the Devils looked at eachother and nodded "Hurry." One of the Devils said.

Onyx ran over to the door and pushed it open while Carmine and Nightshade escorted everyone out of the ballroom, the men and women ran out of the building. Onyx closed the door and turned his attention back to the men on stage "Alright, everyone is out of harms way so let's begin." Onyx said as the three men raised their LMGs and fired at the Wolf trio who ran in separate directions as bullets ripped into the walls and floor. Carmine slid behind a flipped over table while Onyx dove over a concrete planter, Nightshade sprinted around the room toward the stairwell and busted through the door, the door broke from the hinges and crashed to the ground. One of the Devils leaped from the stage and jogged into the stairwell, following Nightshade up the stairs.

Carmine sat up against the table as bullets flew overhead and chewed into wall, he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his Five-Seven, he unscrewed the suppressor and tucked back into the pocket. He looked over to Onyx and nodded to his brother, Onyx nodded back and pulled out his P226, the two brothers shot up from behind cover and opened fire on the two Disciples with LMGs. Their body armor ate the bullets from the Wolves' pistols but a couple shots hit their mark, a bullet ripped through the metal face mask and pierced the man's throat. The man dropped to his knees and choked on his own blood as blood filled his lungs, he ripped off his mask to try and breathe but nothing helped as he grasped at his throat. The other Disciple turned around and looked at his fallen comrade, Onyx unsheathed the knife from his ankle and sprinted toward the distracted gunner.

He leaped onto a table and jumped into the air, bringing the knife down into the Disciple's throat; the blade sliced into the man's flesh and severed his jugular. Blood poured out of the gash on his neck as he struggled for air, Onyx pulled the blade out and thrusted it back into his chest, ending the man's life with one swift movement. He pulled the blade from his chest and wiped the blood onto the now dead Disciple's shirt before sheathing the blade again, Carmine walked up to the stage as his brother collected himself "Shall we go check on Nightshade?" Onyx asked as he fixed his jacket, Carmine swapped mags in his pistol and slipped it back into his jacket pocket "Let's go, bro." Carmine said as he walked toward the broken entrance.

As they entered the stairwell, they heard screaming as a large man impacted the concrete floor in front of the Sable brothers. They looked at the body and noticed a large wound to his abdomen along with a red steel mask on his face, they looked upward and saw Nightshade smiling back at them "I got him!" Nightshade said as he held his shotgun with one hand, Carmine jogged up the stairs and onto the roof where Sapphire stood waiting for him "I'm glad you're safe!" Sapphire said as she hugged the rifleman, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to his body. Jacques stood up and cleared his throat "Ahem! Is everything taken care of?" He asked as he stood up, there was a crack in the air as a round impacted the wall behind him, Grullo shoved him back to the ground "I told you to stay down!" Grullo said as he pulled out his LMG and deployed the bipod.

"Keppel?" Carmine asked as he stepped in front of Sapphire to protect her "I got it, let me adjust my sights." Keppel said as he twisted a knob on his scope, he slowly moved his rifle as he scanned the horizon for a scope glint. He took a deep breath and squeezed the trigger, Carmine covered Sapphire's ears as the hammer hit the back of the bullet and fired the round off. The rifle ejected the spent shell as it loaded the next round into the chamber, Crimson pulled out a FLIR Recon scope and scanned the horizon "That's a… hit. Good gods! You should see the spray pattern of this guy, his head is just gone." Crimson said as he stood up from the ground and put the Recon sight back into his bag.

"Don't pack up just yet! We got contact, 9 o'clock on the ridge; four Humvees and what looks like four helicopters." Keppel said as he adjusted his aim, Onyx picked Jacques up off of the ground and handed him to Nightshade "Get him to his house, now. Sapphire, I want you to get into the stairwell and don't come out until Carmine comes to get you." Onyx said as he opened the door for Nightshade and Sapphire, she nodded her head and hugged Carmine before walking into the stairwell. Crimson and Grullo climbed into the Flak guns, they turned a wheel on the side that changed the elevation of the barrel as they lined up their sights. The helicopters broke off and formed two squads of two "Strafe run!" Onyx yelled as the bullets rained from the miniguns that were mounted on the sides of the helicopter, Crimson and Grullo squeezed the triggers on their flak cannons and fired into the sky. The rounds exploded in the air around the helicopters as they got closer to their target, a flak round exploded and ripped on of the tail rotors off, sending the helicopter into a downward spiral toward the ground. The helicopter crashed into the side of a hill and ripped into the ground before shredding itself and reducing itself to a mangled hunk of steel and fire.

Two other helicopters were swallowed up by the flak rounds that exploded in the sky, the flak fire ripped through their hulls and split them in half, the burning chunks plummeted across the dark night sky before crashing into a lake and an empty field. "One left!" Carmine called out as it got closer, the lone helicopter slowly approached its target but exploded in the night sky. Carmine looked at Crimson and Grullo confused "Was that you?" He asked as he stood up, they shook their heads "No, wasn't us." Crimson said as he got out of the flak turret. The sound of jet engines drowned everything out as they looked around the roof, a VTOL flew into view and circled around the area. The side opened up and revealed Ironwood standing while holding onto a harness "I came as soon as I got the call." Ironwood said as he stepped out of the VTOL and onto the roof, Carmine and Onyx looked at each other confused "We didn't call you." Carmine said, the others nodded in agreement.

"Weiss Schnee called me and informed me of the attack, so I got here as fast as possible." Ironwood said as he walked over to the mercenaries, Onyx walked up to the large man and extended his hand "Thank you for coming when you did. Had you not come in time, I'm sure they would be cleaning us up off the roof." Onyx said as Ironwood shook his hand. "So do we know who is responsible for all this?" Ironwood asked the six men on the roof, Keppel stared down his scope as he watched the convoy that was on the horizon, one of his ears twitched when a cool breeze hit it. "Yeah, two other mercenary groups: Viper Legion and The Devil's Disciples." Nightshade said as he handed his scroll to Ironwood, pictures of the militants appeared on the screen as the General swiped right on the screen.

"So what do we do? Bomb their base?" Ironwood asked as he gave the scroll back to Nightshade, Onyx shook his head "We wipe out their force, all that is left is that convoy. One of the main differences between The Wolf Pack, Viper Legion, and The Devil's Disciples is the number of active mercenaries, Wolf Pack has just us six while their numbers range in the hundreds. The 184th has multiple tank divisions but since they're from Mistral they call them Panzer Divisions." Onyx said as he recalled all the main differences between the Mercenary groups of Remnant. "What about the Grimm Reapers? What is significant about them?" Ironwood asked curiously, the six men went dead silent at the General's question "They specifically do assassination contracts and kill orders while the rest of us have a sense of morality. If they take out a contract at a party, they leave no survivors." Carmine said as he recounted the evilness that was The Grimm Reapers. Onyx clapped his hands together and snapped the rifleman out of his thought "Alright, let's go greet our guests." Onyx said as he pulled out his pistol and dropped the spent mag from the gun, he slapped a fresh magazine into it. Keppel stood up and closed the Bipod on his sniper rifle, he picked up a bag and tossed it over his shoulder "I'm ready when you are." Keppel said as he walked over to the group.

Carmine opened the door and walked into the stairwell, Sapphire stood at the bottom of the first flight of stairs "I'm glad you're safe!" Sapphire said in relief as she threw herself into Carmine's arms, he wrapped his arms around her and held her closely "I'm glad you're ok, I couldn't imagine living without you." Carmine said as he hugged Sapphire tightly, Carmine wrapped his arm around her waist and walked her down the stairs into the main ballroom. They walked out onto the main floor where bodies littered the floor, Grullo and Nightshade got to work moving them "Put the militants in the corner over there." Onyx said as he pointed to a dark area in the corner. As Grullo was lifting a body, the front doors exploded inward and were reduced to splinters of wood and chunks of metal that clattered across the ground. Grullo and Nightshade stepped backward toward the main stage as smoke and dust filled the room, twenty men ran into the room armed with assault rifles and took aim at the Wolf Pack.

A man walked ahead of the crowd of armed men and stood before The Wolf Pack, he had no hair and tattoos all over his bald head, some resembled screaming demons and razor wire coiled around a skull. He stood up straight with his hands behind his back and his legs spread evenly apart "My name is Nyanza Mauve but I also go by Ghost, I see you got my care package." Ghost said as he gestured to the armor-clad corpses that were spread across the room, Carmine clenched his fists and stepped in front of Sapphire "Listen here you son of a bitch! Innocent people died tonight because of you! Their blood is on your hands!" Carmine yelled, his red eyes pulsated in anger as he looked at the small army. Ghost started to laugh lightly, his militants laughed along with him until he stopped laughing "Those men were not innocent, they had prior convictions… just like you, Carmine." Ghost said with an evil grin, Sapphire gasped and covered her mouth. Ghost smiled and walked forward slowly "Oh honey, did you not know your boyfriend has a criminal record?" He asked curiously, Carmine gritted his teeth "You shut your fucking mouth before I shut it for you!" Carmine yelled, Nightshade walked up quietly and took Sapphire by the arm "You're not gonna want to be here for this." Nightshade said as he led her out of the room, Crimson walked over to the P.A. system and plugged his scroll into it.

A couple of the armed militants moved in front of Ghost and raised their rifles at Carmine, Onyx, Grullo, and Keppel walked up to Carmine and stood next to him "What do you want anyway?" Onyx asked the bald man who grinned at the question "You know what we want or should I say who, but I think we'll settle with killing you guys since The Wolf Pack has been nothing but a thorn in our sides and we're not the only ones who want you dead, so does Viper Legion and The Grimm Reapers." Ghost said as he crossed his arms, Onyx cleared his throat and spat onto the ground "Well sorry to disappoint but we're not going anywhere." Onyx said as he cracked his knuckles. "Let's do this with no guns, shall we?" Ghost said as he lowered two of the militant's rifles.

"That's fine with us, bitch ass mother fucker." Carmine said as he pulled his jacket off and tossed it onto the stage, he unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it off of his back and laid it on top of his jacket. He had a tattoo of a Beowolf head with a sword through it on his upper right arm and a tattoo across his back that read "No Retreat, No Surrender", Grullo unfastened his holsters and sat them on the stage along with his rifle, he pulled out a set of brass knuckles and put them on his fingers, the knuckles read 'LOVE' and 'HATE'. "Crimson, you want in on this?" Carmine asked as he started pulling on a pair of black gloves, loud guitar started to play from the speakers in the roof as Crimson ran out and leaped off the stage. He landed next to Onyx and started to remove his holsters and other weapons, setting them on the stage with the others.

 **Ballroom Blitz – The Struts**

 **Oh it's been getting so hard, living with the things you do to me. My dreams are getting so strange, I'd like to tell you everything I see.**

Onyx looked at Crimson and grinned "Great choice." Onyx said with a chuckle as the now unarmed militants started to move toward them.

 **Oh, I see a man at the back as a matter of fact, his eyes are as red as the sun. And the girl in the corner let no one ignore her, because she thinks she's the passionate one. Oh yeah! It was like lightning, everybody was fighting and the music was soothing, and they all started grooving.**

Carmine took off in a sprint and leaped through the air, bringing his foot across one of the militant's faces and sending him into the ground.

 **Yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah-yeah and the man in the back said everyone attack and it turned into a ballroom blitz and the girl in the corner said boy I want to warn you, It'll turn into a ballroom blitz, Ballroom blitz, ballroom blitz, ballroom blitz, ballroom blitz.**

Grullo followed suit and threw a right cross into one of the militants, he quickly grabbed him by his red vest and slammed him into the ground. Keppel and Crimson leaped into the now fighting crowd and started throwing punches left and right, Crimson elbowed one in the throat and broke his windpipe before bringing his head down into his knee and followed it up by driving his shoulder into his stomach and picking him up before slamming him back into the ground. Keppel kicked the back of a militant's leg and forced him to his knees, he slid behind him and quickly snapped his neck with one quick motion.

 **Oh reaching out for something touching nothing's all I ever do, oh I softly call you over when you appear there's nothing left of you. And the man in the back is ready to crack as he raises his hands to the sky, and the girl in the corner is everyone's woman she could kill you with a wink of her eye.**

Onyx grabbed two militants by the back of their heads and slammed their heads together, knocking them out quickly. Carmine drove his fist up into a man's chin and launched him up into the air, Crimson ran over and slammed the man back to the ground with his leg, and the man hit the ground with a thud that caused him to cough up blood before passing out. Two men ran in with wooden bats and started swinging at the Keppel and Crimson, Crimson grabbed the bat mid swing and ripped it from the militant's hands. The militant looked shocked as Crimson stared at him, Crimson pump faked him and caused him to turn and run right into Grullo's fist, the man crashed to the ground with 'LOVE' imprinted on his forehead.

 **Oh yeah! It was electric, so perfectly hectic and the band started leaving because they all stopped breathing. Yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah-yeah and the man in the back said everyone attack, and it turned into a ballroom blitz and the girl in the corner said boy I want to warn you It'll turn into a ballroom blitz. Ballroom blitz, ballroom blitz, ballroom blitz, ballroom blitz.**

Crimson knocked a man's legs out from under him before bringing the bat down into his chest, he turned around and cracked a man across the face with the bat, and a tooth flew from the man's mouth and clattered to the ground as the man hit the floor. Carmine grabbed a man by the shoulder and spun him around, he drove his fist into the man's gut and swept his legs out from under him, the man hit the ground with a loud thud.

 **Oh yeah! It was like lightning, everybody was fighting and the music was soothing, and they all started grooving. Yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah-yeah and the man in the back said everyone attack and it turned into a ballroom blitz and the girl in the corner said boy I want to warn you, It'll turn into a ballroom blitz, Ballroom blitz, ballroom blitz, ballroom blitz, ballroom blitz.**

Onyx walked toward a man and threw a roundhouse that caught the man in the right side of his face before following it up with another roundhouse with his other leg, the man stumbled backward as he held his jaw, he looked up in time to see Onyx throwing a kick that hit the right side of his face, he crashed into the ground and fell unconscious. Keppel dropped to his hands and knees behind a man as Crimson ran and leaped toward him, driving both feet into his chest. He flew back and fell to the ground as he was knocked over by Keppel who shot up and kicked him in the side of the face.

 **It's, it's a ballroom blitz, It's, it's a ballroom blitz, It's, it's a ballroom blitz, Yeah, it's a ballroom blitz!**

A man tried to run away but Crimson threw the wooded bat, the bat flew through the air and smacked the man in the back of the head as the song ended, the man hit the ground with a loud thud. Some militants were on the ground, groaning in pain as they clenched various parts of their bodies, Carmine looked up at Ghost who stood there with his arms crossed "You men are pathetic!" Ghost said as he spat onto one of them, Carmine walked toward him "Alright, if you think you are so much better than them then fight me, one on one!" Carmine said as he pointed at the man, Ghost chuckled "I thought you would never ask." Ghost said as he walked toward him, seven other Ghost's showed up next to him "I guess you'll find out why they call me Ghost." Ghost said as the seven figures ran at Carmine, Onyx and Crimson raised their fists but Carmine held his hand up "I got this." He said with a grin.

 **This Means War – Nickelback**

 **Climb into the ring for a battle that you can't win, swing as hard as you can swing, it will still mean nothing. Should've seen it coming, it had to happen sometime but you went and brought a knife to an all-out gun fight.**

Carmine raised his fists as he blocked punches and kicks from the seven figures, he watched the ground as he saw seven figures but only one shadow. Carmine threw his elbow into the figure to his right and upon hitting it, it disappeared into thin air. He clenched his fist as he felt energy flow into it, he punched a figure to his left and it exploded as his fist detonated an explosive charge, Carmine stood up and grabbed a figure, he exhaled boiling hot steam into its face that caused it to dissipate.

 **And the only thing to save is the banner that you wave, to be wrapped around your grave. You've gone too far, who do you think you are? Is this what you came for? Well this means war!**

Carmine stood back up and looked at the four figures of Ghost that seemed to double as more appeared around him, Carmine sighed as he raised his fists again. He sprinted forward and drove a roundhouse into one of the figures, Onyx called to his brother "Stop worrying about them, go for the main target." Onyx said as his brother fought figure after figure that didn't seem to stop coming.

 **Say anything you want but talk will get you nowhere, the only thing you've brought was psychological warfare. Well there's no getting out and now you got to wonder, who will dig you out when you're six feet under?**

Carmine stomped his foot twice and cause a blade to come out of the front of his right shoe, he kicked the figures and sliced through them with ease.

 **And the only thing to save is the banner that you wave, to be wrapped around your grave. You've gone too far, who do you think you are? Is this what you came for? Well this means war!**

Carmine looked at Ghost and grinned, Carmine ran toward him and threw a haymaker that caught him in the side of the face, the other Ghost figures disappeared a nine Ghosts turned to only one who stumbled backward. As a heavy guitar solo began, Carmine threw punch after punch that the man blocked, Carmine brought his fist back and clenched it as energy filled it, he drove the fist into Ghost's gut, the charge detonated and caused the man to gasp in agony as he gripped his gut "Fuck! My ribs!" The man exclaimed as he was hunched over.

 **And the only thing to save is the banner that you wave, to be wrapped around your grave. You've gone too far, who do you think you are? Is this what you came for? Well this means war!**

Carmine looked over to Onyx who nodded and put his finger to his throat 'End it.' Keppel said silently as he watched from the stage, Ghost stood back up slowly as Carmine walked up to him. Carmine drove a roundhouse to the side of Ghost's head with his right foot, the blade sliced into Ghost's temple and ended the man's life quickly, Carmine pulled his foot back and sheathed the blade back into the shoe.

 **Well this means war!**

Ghost collapsed to the ground as the room fell quiet, Carmine lowered his head as the silence started to become overwhelming for the rifleman, Keppel and Crimson ran over to him as he started to shake in anger and sadness "Ahhhhh!" Carmine screamed out as he fell to his knees, Crimson knelt down next to him and held onto his shoulder "I know man, just let it out. That man was pure evil and you did the world a favor by eliminating him." Crimson said as he reassured the rifleman who had a few tears streaming down his face. Nightshade ran back out with Sapphire behind him "We heard Carmine yell, is he alright?" Nightshade asked as he came to a stop on the stage, Sapphire looked out into the sea of bodies and saw Carmine on the ground with Crimson and Keppel knelt down next to him.

Onyx grabbed Carmine's shirt and jacket from the stage and carried it over to the man on the ground "Come on, little brother. Let's go home." Onyx said as he draped the dress shirt over his shoulders, Crimson helped Carmine off of the ground as Carmine put his arms into the sleeves of the dress shirt. Sapphire looked at Nightshade "Is he gonna be alright, I've never seen him like this." She asked worried about Carmine, Nightshade sighed "Carmine got arrested a few years ago for killing a two guys at a bar during a bar fight, Keppel and his wife were with us and we were celebrating after a long mission when a bar fight broke out. We were trying to get out when two guys pulled knives on Keppel and his wife, calling them 'Faunus Scum.' Carmine snapped, broke one guy's knee and snapped his neck before stabbing the other one in the heart. The whole thing was ruled self-defense but he still feels like there is some beast living inside of him and he's scared he'll snap and hurt the ones he loves so he tries to end everything non-violently." Nightshade said as he explained the past events to Sapphire.

Sapphire covered her mouth as she took it all in "Poor guy, I hope he'll be alright." She said quietly to herself as she followed Nightshade out of the building, Grullo followed as he clipped his holsters back on to his waist. Crimson reattached his holsters to his legs and chest as they boarded a VTOL that was waiting for them, the Airship took off into the sky as it raced off toward Vale.

 ***One Hour Later***

The Airship landed at the docks of Vale, Carmine stood up and pulled on his jacket "Thanks guys, I just need a moment to think, I'll be back in a bit." Carmine said as he walked off into the darkness, Sapphire tried to get up to follow him but Onyx stopped her "He'll be back in a bit, it's best to give him his space." Onyx said as he stood up and guided her off of the airship, Keppel walked out and looked into the night sky at the shattered moon "Hey guys, I'm gonna go home and see my family, I'll see you in a couple of days." Keppel said as he made his way to the downtown district of Vale.

"Alright, be safe and call us if anything comes up." Crimson said as they walked back to the HQ, Onyx unlocked the front door and pushed it open before he flipped on the lights "Home sweet home!" Nightshade exclaimed as he walked in and threw himself onto the sofa, Grullo walked over to the corner and pulled his boots off before he sat on the ground and crossed his legs with his eyes closed "All the gods, all the heavens and all the hells are within you." Grullo said to himself as he started to meditate quietly. Crimson sat at the table and pulled out a bottle of vodka along with a shot glass, Sapphire walked into Carmine's room and sat down on the bed with her head lowered toward the ground. Onyx stuck his head through the doorway and knocked on the door "Hey honey, can I get you anything?" He asked gently, she shook her head as she stared at the ground "I just want to help him because I love him so much." Sapphire said as felt the side of the bed where Carmine slept, Onyx walked in and sat down next to her "You can only be there for him, he has to face his demons alone but when he returns, you go to him and be his rock. He loves you so much." Onyx said as he patted her on the shoulder, she smiled as she laid back on the bed.

 ***One Hour Later***

An hour had passed since Carmine had left and Sapphire was laid out on his bed, as she looked at the roof of the now dark room, she was snapped out of her trance by a voice coming from outside. She sat up and moved toward the window so she could hear the voice better, it was filled with sadness and anger, she pulled on a pair of Carmine's shoes and left the room to investigate, Crimson was passed out at the table with a now empty bottle of vodka on the table, Sapphire unlocked the back door and walked out onto the unloading bay. She walked around the building and saw Carmine leaning against the wall with his head lowered, singing to himself " **Show me what it's like to be the last one standing and teach me wrong from right, and I'll show you what I can be and say it for me. Say it to me and I'll leave this life behind me, say it if it's worth saving me.** "

Sapphire ran over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist "Don't leave like that again!" She said as she started to cry into his chest, he stroked her jet black hair as he comforted her "I'm sorry babe, I guess Nightshade told you about my criminal history?" He asked, she looked up at him and nodded, her black eyeliner leaving a smoky trail down her cheek, Carmine reached up and wiped away the tears and eyeliner from her face with his sleeve "You did what you did to protect your friends, you killed that guy to save your friends. You're a good man, Carmine and I know you have no ill will towards anyone." Sapphire said as she rested her head against Carmine's chest.

"No matter what happens, I will never stop loving you." Sapphire said, he smiled but stopped for a moment "Sapphire, in this life I have the chance of not coming home, if that happens I don't want you to get hung up on my death." Carmine said, Sapphire stepped away from him and slapped him across the face, the smack echoed through the alley way and into the silent night "Why would you say something like that?" She asked pained, Carmine lowered his head "We all have to tell our loved ones that, Keppel had a fund set up for his wife and daughter to be set for life in the event of his death. I thought I would let you know the score." Carmine said, Sapphire lowered her head "I know but I don't want to think about losing you, I want to be by your side forever." Sapphire said as she hugged Carmine again, he rubbed her back as he comforted her "I'm sorry I brought it up, sweetheart." He said softly, she looked up and kissed him on the lips to silence him "Just stop talking." She said playfully, he reached down and picked her up off of the ground. He carried her back inside the Wolf Pack HQ, he locked the back door behind him as he carried her into the main room as they walked past a still passed out Crimson who was now drooling on the table.

 ***Mild NSFW***

Carmine pushed his bedroom door open and carried her through the threshold of the room, he laid her down on the bed as he pulled his jacket and dress shirt off, tossing them onto the floor of his room. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, she pulled him down into her lips and kissed him deeply, he pushed back against her lips. She pushed her tongue into his mouth as they kissed each other deeply, she reached down and unfastened his belt buckle on his pants as they kissed each other with passion. He reached down and lifted the bottom of her dress up, she lifted herself up lightly so he could remove her dress completely, he tossed the black dress into a pile on top of his dress shirt and jacket. She dug her nails into his back as he kissed her neck, he caressed her torso lightly and caused her to arch her back in ecstasy, she wrapped her legs around his thighs and pulled him closer to her body. She reached into the nightstand next to the bed and pulled out a condom from the drawer, she handed it to him with a wink "Better safe than sorry." She said playfully as he unfastened her bra and tossed it to the floor, she reached down and pushed the dress pants from his waist line. He stood up and pulled of his dress shoes along with his pants before he climbed back on top of Sapphire, her eyes were full of lust as he kissed her again, she grabbed him by the shoulder and pushed him over onto the mattress, straddling his waist and pinning him to the bed. She tore the condom wrapper with her teeth and placed between her fingers as she moved toward the end of the bed, Carmine grabbed a shotgun from under his bed and used the barrel to shut the door.

 ***End NSFW***

 **A/N (Sorry this took so long, I told myself to keep this limited to under 10,000 words but I got caught up with it, this took so long to finish but it's finally done. I'll start ch. 16 of Titan Rising as soon as Finals are done. Let me know what you thought of it, and remember to Favorite, Follow, and Review and as always, this is Nightmare 6-4, Signing off. Edit: Fixed some typos and the contradiction)**


	3. Chapter 3: Booze and Bar Fights

Wolf Pack Ch. 3: Booze and Bar Fights

 **I do not own RWBY, RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum (R.I.P.) nor do I own any media that may appear in the story. I only own the OCs, Enjoy! Remember to Favorite, Follow, and leave a Review. (Should clarify, Carmine is pronounced Car-Mine.)**

Onyx walked out of his room and into the main room, he turned on the TV and switched to the news, he looked over to the dining table and saw Crimson passed out with an empty liquor bottle in front of him. "Good lord." Onyx said shaking his head as Nightshade entered the room "Yeah, found him passed out this morning, I'm surprised he slept through the two lovebirds last night." Nightshade said, gesturing toward Carmine's door. Crimson groaned as he stirred at the table and sat up "Fuck! What time is it?" Crimson asked as he rubbed the side of his head, Nightshade rubbed his shaggy black hair that was usually covered by a black beanie "It's morning, how about you chug some coffee and go run off that hangover. We'll have Carmine go with you too, so you don't get into any fights." Nightshade said as he went to pour a cup of coffee, Onyx returned his attention to the TV as a banner that read 'Breaking News!' popped up on the TV.

"We are getting reports of an apparent attack on the Schnee Gala in Atlas last night, reports are saying there was a lot of gunfire exchanged between multiple parties, authorities have recovered multiple bodies and are working on confirming their identities. One of the bodies recovered was that of infamous mercenary and hitman only known as 'Ghost', Ghost is said to have died from trauma to the temporal lobe and multiple lacerations to the abdomen." The news anchor explained as images of the attack popped up on the screen, Onyx walked over to Carmine's room and pounded on the door "Carmine! Wake up, you gotta see this!" Onyx yelled, the sound of shuffling and clattering could be heard coming from inside the room along with giggling, Carmine stumbled out the door and buckled his pants up "Where's the fire?" Carmine asked as he looked around the room, Onyx pointed at the TV "That, that right there." Onyx said as Carmine looked at the TV, Grullo walked into the room and looked at his fellow mercs who had serious looks on their faces "Man, who died?" Grullo asked sarcastically, Carmine pointed at the TV "Those people did." Carmine said as the info bar read 'Four civilians dead along with multiple armed militants.' Grullo sighed "Well shit, any chance we'll be listed as suspects?" Grullo asked but Onyx shook his head "Ironwood will vouch for us if we do but I doubt it will happen." Onyx said as he crossed his arm.

"In other news, Pyrrha Nikos of Sanctum Academy in Mistral is moving on to The Mistral Junior Fighting Festival where she…" The news anchor started to explain but Onyx shut the TV off, he rubbed his face as he thought about everything the news just said "Well, this sucks." Nightshade exclaimed as he leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, Carmine sat down on the couch and leaned back "There was a woman in the Schnee manner, she was a Faunus and she said that 'The Schnee sit in their ivory tower and look at the world, like it just doesn't exist to them, well that ends tonight.' so I don't even know where to begin." Carmine said as he thought about the woman in Weiss's room. Onyx pulled out a chair and sat down at the table "So you think the White Fang is behind the attack?" Onyx asked as he spun the empty vodka bottle, Nightshade stood up and scratched his chin "If it is the White Fang, it's not the one led by Sienna Khan I can tell you that right now." Nightshade said as he walked around the room.

Grullo rolled his neck as he stood up from his seat "Should we go ask them in person?" The large man asked as he cracked his knuckles, Onyx chuckled as he stood up "Let's hold off on the unnecessary violence until we have a chance to figure this out more, we'll investigate when the time comes but until then, we lay low." Onyx said as he rubbed his head. Carmine stood up and walked into the kitchen, he grabbed a mug from the cabinet and poured himself a cup of coffee, he walked back into the main room and sat back down on the couch. Crimson walked out of his room and zipped up his jacket, he sat down in a chair and slipped his boots on "Oh man, it is too bright in here." Crimson said as he tied his boots, Carmine handed him his cup of coffee "Here, you need it more than me." Carmine said as Crimson took it from the red-eyed man and tipped the mug back, chugging the coffee in a quick gulp.

"Get dressed fucknuts, we're going running." Crimson said as he set the mug down, Carmine looked at him confused "Who's we?" Carmine asked, Nightshade coughed and looked around the room "I may or may not have volunteered you." Nightshade said rubbing the back of his head, Carmine stared at him and shook his head "What is wrong with you?!" Carmine scoffed as he walked into his room to get dressed, Sapphire looked up from Carmine's pillow "What's up, hun?" Sapphire asked as she laid on Carmine's side of the bed, Carmine slid open his closet and pulled out his hoodie, he slipped his arms into the sleeves and zipped it up before he slipped his Heavy IBA on over the hoodie. Sapphire picked her bra up off the floor and put it on over her breasts, Carmine closed the door as she stood up and turned around "Clip me up?" She asked as she lifted her hair up, Carmine clasped the bra together and sealed her breasts in the cups. Sapphire picked up her panties and slipped her legs into the holes, pulling them up to her hips "Here, I'll clip you closed." Sapphire said as she clipped the sides of his IBA closed and tightened it, Carmine pulled out off his pants and slipped on a pair of KVA tactical pants, zipping up the fly and buckling his tactical belt. Sapphire grabbed his Ka-Bar from the nightstand and handed it to Carmine, he slipped the knife into the sheath on his left shoulder.

He turned around and wrapped his arms around Sapphire "Love you, sweetheart." Carmine said as he hugged his girlfriend, she wrapped her arms around his back and pushed her chest into his chest "Love you too, babe." Sapphire said as she kissed him on the lips, Carmine stood up and walked out into the main room. He walked over to the armory and opened a drawer of pistols, he grabbed a 1911 out of the drawer and cocked it before slipping into his holster, he opened a box of .45 ACP and began to load three more magazines, slipping them into the front of his IBA. Carmine grabbed a small backpack out of a cabinet and unzipped it, he pulled out an MPX and slapped a mag in it before he slipped it into the backpack, he grabbed a few extra mags and loaded them with 9 x 19mm before the placing them in the front of his IBA, below the 1911 mags. He slipped the backpack onto his back and tightened the straps before exiting the armory, he walked over to his room and grabbed his combat boots from beside his bed, Sapphire pulled a shirt on over her bra and a pulled on a pair of yoga pants before she walked out of the room and into the main room.

He slipped his boots on and zipped up the sides before sliding the pants leg over the top of the boots, he stood up and walked out of his room. Crimson stood there tapping his foot "Damn man, about time." Crimson said rolling his eyes, Carmine shook his head as he walked into the kitchen and grabbed a Green Bull from the fridge, he popped the tab and chugged it. The bitter fluid rushed down his throat, the Taurine vitalized his metabolism and sped his heart rate up, he crushed the can and tossed it into the trash "Alright fuckboy! Let's go!" Carmine exclaimed as he walked up to Crimson, Crimson slapped his arm and followed him out to the street "So how far are we going?" Crimson asked as he started to jog in place, Carmine thought for a moment as he stretched "Start here, down the way and hook a left, through the market and into downtown, where the café is. That is about 6 miles, good?" Carmine asked Crimson who nodded in agreement.

Carmine and Crimson started jogging down the road, they hooked a left and broke into a sprint through the marketplace. Carmine dug into the ground and shot ahead as he weaved in and out of the crowd of people, Crimson ran and slid under two men who were carrying a large crate into a building, Crimson pushed himself off the ground quickly and leaped over a hedge, cutting in front of Carmine. "Suck it, mother fucker!" Crimson exclaimed as he sprinted down the street, Carmine shook his head as he lowered himself toward the ground to pick up speed as he caught up with Crimson. Carmine looked ahead and saw the next turn coming up, he looked over and saw an alley that split two buildings, Carmine hopped over a fence and ran into the alley where he accidentally knocked over a trash can before he shot out of the alley and hooked a right in front of Crimson.

They approached an intersection that only had two stop signs across from each other, Carmine sprinted into traffic and narrowly missed being hit by a van as he cut through the median and skated across the other lane to the sidewalk. He turned around to see where Crimson was but as he turned around, Crimson sprinted past him and kept running down the road, Carmine rolled his eyes as he continued to chase him down. Crimson hooked a corner and ran down a brick road with Carmine hot on his trail, Crimson dug into the ground and sprinted as fast as he could but lost his footing, he tumbled to the ground and slid to a stop in front of a woman's feet, Carmine slowed down to a walk as he walked up to Crimson who was pushing himself up off the ground. He looked up at the woman who had black hair and green eyes, she had red eyeshadow and her eyelashes accented, she held a coffee cup in one hand and her scroll in the other "Oh, I'm so sorry, I just couldn't help but fall for you." Crimson said flirtatiously, the woman giggled at his lame pickup line.

"I'm Crimson. Crimson Nerissimo." Crimson said as he leaned against the railing, she leaned against the rail next to him "I'm Miltia. Miltia Malachite." Miltia said as she sipped her coffee, Carmine walked down the road "I'll let you two get to know each other." Carmine said as he walked down the street, he looked over his shoulder and saw them laughing as they talked 'Get her, tiger.' Carmine thought to himself as he kept walking, Carmine dug into his pocket and pulled out a pair of wireless headphones, plugging the adapter into his scroll before placing the earbuds into his ears. Carmine nodded his head as he listened to the music that came out of the headphones, he started to run down the road again but hooked a left down an alley that led to a dead end but he used a dumpster to jump up and grab the ledge of the building, he pulled himself up and looked around the area.

Carmine took a couple steps back and sprinted toward the edge before leaping across the valley that was the alleyway, he landed on the other roof and kept running from rooftop to rooftop, jumping over air conditioners and sliding under ventilation ducts. Carmine ran until he ran out of roof and came to a stop at the edge of a building, he knelt down and surveyed the area but his survey was interrupted by the sound of a woman begging "Please. Please, just take my purse and leave me be." The unknown woman begged but an unknown man chuckled "Oh no honey, I want what's between your legs." The man said with a maniacal laugh, Carmine gritted his teeth and looked down to see a woman cornered in an alley, a man gripped a knife in his hand as he crept closer to the woman who was on the ground weeping. Carmine sighed and pulled out his pistol, he pulled back the slide and chambered a round into the barrel, Carmine hopped down and landed on top of a dumpster, denting the lid.

The man turned around only to stare down the barrel of a 1911, Carmine leaned over and looked at the woman "You run along now, I'd invest in some form of weapon, I suggest a P226 or PPK." Carmine said as the woman stood up and ran past him but stopped at the entrance of the alley "Thank you so much, who are you?" The woman asked, Carmine turned his attention toward her "I'm just your friendly, neighborhood mercenary." Carmine said playfully, the man used Carmine's distraction to try and stab him but Carmine cocked the hammer back, making the man stop in his tracks. The woman bowed in gratitude before taking off down the road, Carmine returned his attention to the man at the end of his barrel "Now, what to do with you?" Carmine asked as he took the knife from the man and stabbed it into the brick wall, the tip fractured and the blade bent in half as he dropped it into a trashcan. Carmine grabbed his arm and jerked him forward as he holstered his pistol, he forced the man's arm behind his back.

"Now to make sure you don't try any quick shit, bite down on this." Carmine said as he pulled off the man's beanie and shoved it into the man's mouth, the man started to panic but it was muffled. Carmine grabbed his right arm and jerked it downward, popping his arm out of the socket, the man howled in pain but it was inaudible cause of the gag in his mouth. Carmine pushed the man down the street as he led him toward the police station, Police Officers stared at him as he led the man up the street toward the station. As they walked up the stairs, an officer opened the door for him and Carmine pushed the man inside the building and onto the floor. The officer that sat at the front desk stared in disbelief at what she was seeing.

"Uhh, can I help you, sir?" The female officer asked, Carmine pointed at the man on the floor "Yeah, I caught this man trying to rape a young woman in the alley up the road, he put up a fight so I dislocated his shoulder." Carmine said he adjusted his IBA, the woman stood up and placed her hand on her sidearm "Sir, I need you to put your hands where I can see them." The female officer said, her voice shaking. "Wait, this is the bad guy, not me! I'm just a mercenary, here look at my dogtags." Carmine said as he reached for his chest, the woman withdrew her pistol and pointed it at Carmine "Sir, put your hands in the air!" The officer ordered, a few more officers ran into the room with their weapons drawn at Carmine, Carmine shook his head as he got down on his knees and placed his hands behind his head, an officer ran over to him and handcuffed his hands behind his back. The officer pulled the pistol from his holster and unzipped his backpack, withdrawing the MPX from the bag and placing both weapons on the desk.

The officer forced Carmine to his feet and guided him to a holding cell, he took the cuffs off and pushed the rifleman into the cell along with five other men who looked very sketchy, the officer shut the cell door and walked toward the man on the ground, he picked the man up and pulled the gag from his mouth "Are you ok, Officer Pine?" The other officer asked, Pine nodded as the officer relocated his arm back into his shoulder. Carmine stared in disbelief at what he was seeing, the man to his left tapped him on the arm "Yeah, this place is really corrupt." The tall man said as he slid over so Carmine could sit down, the man patted Carmine on the back as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his scroll, he scrolled through his contacts and pressed call on the name 'Onyx'.

The line rang a couple times before a male voice answered "What's up, little bro?" Onyx asked happily, Carmine sighed "Vale Police got me in lockup, I busted a man who was trying to rape a woman and apparently that man is an officer." Carmine explained, Onyx sighed "Damn it, alright sit tight and don't bust yourself out. We'll come and force their hand." Onyx said as the call ended, Carmine sat back against the iron bars and sighed, the man next to him chuckled "Friends in high places?" He asked, Carmine chuckled lightly "We're mercenaries and we have protected this city more than any of these cops have." Carmine explained, he looked over and extended his hand "Carmine Sable." Carmine said introducing himself, the man shook his hand "Qrow Branwen." Qrow said shaking his hand.

For over an hour Carmine and Qrow swapped stories and jokes with each other, laughing while the officers told them to be quiet "Ahh bite me." Qrow said flicking them off, an officer stood up and pulled out his baton "I wouldn't do that if I were you!" A voice yelled out with bass that shook the room, Carmine looked over his shoulder and saw Onyx standing in the entrance with his AK-74 in his hand along with Grullo and Nightshade who also had their weapons, Nightshade with his shotgun and Grullo with his LMG. The female officer at the desk stood up and drew her weapon "Hands! Let me see your hands!" She demanded, Onyx stared her down and walked forward slowly "How will your C.O. take it when he finds out that you drew your weapon on the Wolf Pack, hmm?" Onyx asked, the woman cocked the hammer on her pistol but the Sergeant ran over and forced her pistol down.

"I am so sorry, Onyx. She's new and still getting used to this, what can I do for you?" Sergeant Naranja asked, Onyx stared the man down and gritted his teeth "Why is Carmine Sable locked up? He's a member of the Wolf Pack, so help me I will take this to the top brass and I'll see that you all are stripped of your badges." Onyx threatened the man who was visibly shaken, Naranja gulped and looked at a nearby officer "Well, what are you waiting for? Release him and give him back his stuff." Naranja ordered, the officer shot up and fumbled with the keys to unlock the cell as he walked over to it, he put the keys in the door and unlocked it. He slid the door open and let Carmine go, Carmine walked out slowly but stopped at the door.

"He's coming with me." Carmine said pointing at Qrow, the officer shook his head "Yeah, that's not happening." The officer said with a chuckle, Carmine looked at Onyx who looked at Naranja "Grullo?" Onyx asked "Got it." Grullo said as he pulled out his scroll and started to dial a number, Naranja started to shake as Onyx stared at him "Officer, let Qrow go too." Naranja ordered, the officer looked at Qrow and motioned for him to go, Qrow stood up and followed Carmine out of the cell.

Carmine walked over to the front desk and stared at Naranja "I believe I had a pistol and a submachine gun." Carmine said furiously, Naranja backed up slowly but bumped into a desk "Y-Yes sir." Naranja said as he scurried to the door marked 'Evidence' and brought back a bin that held his weapons, he took his pistol out and checked the mag before putting it in his holster along with his MPX back into his backpack. Naranja gave Qrow back his sword and his flask, Carmine gritted his teeth "Now, where is Officer Pine?" Carmine asked angrily, Naranja looked confused "What do you want with Pine?" Naranja asked, Carmine walked forward and looked at the woman "He tried to rape a woman and I stopped him, dislocated his shoulder and brought him in, that is when I was arrested and Pine was let go by that man." Carmine said, pointing at the man who still held a baton in his hand.

Naranja looked at the man "Sunny, where is Pine?" Naranja asked, Sunny stammered for a moment "Are you gonna believe these guns for hire?" Sunny asked, Naranja sighed "Sunny. Where. Is. Pine?" Naranja demanded, Sunny sighed "Locker room." Sunny said defeated, Naranja walked through a set of doors and emerged shortly after pulling a man in a grey jacket out "Ouch! My arm!" Pine exclaimed in pain, Naranja threw Pine onto the floor in front of Carmine. Pine looked up and was struck with fear "Sir, he attacked me. I was minding my own business and…" Pine started to explain but Carmine cut him off "Pine, cut the bullshit and admit that you tried to rape that woman!" Carmine demanded, Naranja grabbed Pine by the shirt and stared him in the eyes "I always suspected you of being the Vale Violator and this confirms my suspicion. Officer Pine, you are under arrest for the crimes committed against the women of Vale. Sunny, I want your badge and your gun on my desk, now." Naranja said as he escorted Pine to the holding cell.

Pine stumbled in and looked back as the cell door closed, he looked to his left as the four large men stared him down "So, you preyed on innocent women?" One man asked as he cracked his knuckles. Naranja walked back over to the Wolf Pack "Again, I am so sorry this happened." Naranja said apologizing for the officer's incompetence, Carmine patted him on the shoulder "I shake the tree a bit more to see if any more rotten apples fall out." Carmine said as he walked out of the building, the sun shown bright outside as they entered the streets that were filled with people now. Qrow stood next to Carmine and looked out at the crowd of people "Thanks again, Sable. I'll catch you around." Qrow said shaking Carmine's hand before he disappeared into the crowd of people, Carmine looked down toward the coffee shop and saw Crimson still talking to that girl at a table.

"I'll catch you guys back at the HQ." Carmine said as he started to leave but Onyx stopped him "Stay safe, little bro." Onyx said as they got into the Humvee and took off down the road, Carmine walked down the road toward the coffee shop where Crimson was still talking to Miltia "So I grabbed this guy by his harness and toss him over the bar into the liquor wall." Crimson said, Miltia laughed at his story as Carmine walked up, Crimson looked up and nodded "Hey man, where you been?" Crimson asked with a smile on his face, Carmine chuckled "Oh you know me, doing Parkour and getting arrested, Onyx had to put the fear of the gods into them." Carmine said, causing Crimson to go pale but Carmine held his hand up "It's all good, you enjoy yourself." Carmine said as walked into the coffee shop and sat down on one of the sofas, there was a woman with black hair and greens eyes sitting across from him reading a book, she had green eyeshadow on and a pair of heels on "So, whatcha reading?" Carmine asked the woman who looked up from her book and looked at the mercenary "It's called the Man with Two Souls. It's about a man who has two souls living inside of him and they're both fighting for control." The woman explained, Carmine nodded "Oh so the guy has a Split Personality and will switch from fine to crazy." Carmine said, the woman giggled "I guess if you want to look at it like that." the woman said with a smile, Carmine sat up and cleared his throat "So is that your sister outside?" Carmine asked, the woman closed the book and looked at Carmine with a serious expression "Who are you?" The woman asked as she held the book in her hand "I'm Carmine and the guy talking to your sister is Crimson, I got the feeling she was your sister since you are dressed the same except for a few key differences, you have green eyeshadow while she has red. I gather that you two are twins?" Carmine asked, the woman sat back and chuckled "Man, you are good. I'm Melanie Malachite, that's my twin sister, Miltia." Melanie explained.

Melanie clicked on her scroll and checked the time "Well, it's been fun but we gotta get going to get ready for work, you should come see us at Junior's Club in Downtown Vale." Melanie said with a wink as she stood up, Carmine stood up "I got a girlfriend already but I'll bring my brothers." Carmine said, Melanie smiled as she walked out of the coffee shop and gathered Miltia, Miltia wrote down something on a piece of paper and gave it to Crimson who tucked it into his pocket. Carmine stood up and adjusted his IBA before he exited the shop, he walked out into the cool summer air, Crimson waved bye as Melanie and Miltia walked away; Miltia turned around and blew him a kiss. Crimson rubbed his head lightly "We have got to go to that club tonight." Crimson said as he grabbed Carmine by the shoulders, Carmine chuckled as he took Crimson's hands off his shoulders. "Don't worry Crimson, we'll go." Carmine said as he adjusted his hoodie, Crimson pulled out his scroll and the piece of paper, copying the number into his scroll before putting it back into his pocket. Carmine adjusted the straps of his backpack and rolled his shoulders "So, wanna race back to the HQ?" Carmine asked as he started to stretch again, Crimson chuckled "I thought you'd never ask." Crimson said as he fixed his jacket and loosened himself up.

Carmine and Crimson jogged down the road, they took a right down an alley and broke into a sprint down the narrow passage, Carmine and Crimson struggled to pass each other but Crimson lowered himself toward the ground and passed Carmine before taking a right out of the alley. Carmine ran out and leaped over a fence to cut through a plot of grass, blades of grass were crushed as the man ran through the small field. As Crimson rounded the corner, Carmine jumped over the fence and got in front of him, Carmine sprinted up the paved road as they neared the marketplace. Crimson dug into his core and pushed ahead "I don't think so mother fucker!" Crimson exclaimed as he passed Carmine and turned the corner to run down the home stretch. Carmine turned the corner behind Crimson, he weaved in and out of the crowd of people as he trailed behind Crimson, Crimson hooked a right and sprinted toward the HQ before slowing down to a jog as he approached the door. Carmine turned the corner and used Crimson's relaxation to his advantage, Carmine dug down and sprinted toward the HQ door, he ran past Crimson but wasn't able to slow down in time, Carmine dug his heels into the ground as he tried to slow down but failed to stop and slammed into the wall before collapsing to the ground.

Carmine shook his head as he sat up while he was on the ground, Crimson walked up and looked at the man on the ground as he shook his head "Man, that narcissism is gonna get you killed one of these days." Crimson said as he helped the man up off of the ground. Carmine twisted the knob and opened the door to the HQ, Onyx and Nightshade sat at the table playing cards while Grullo wrapped black tape around a pair of drum sticks, Crimson and Carmine walked inside the building panting. Carmine collapsed to the ground as he tried to breathe, Crimson sat down on the floor against the wall "You guys okay?" Nightshade asked as he shuffled his cards, Carmine rolled over and pushed himself off of the floor "Yeah, we're fine." Carmine said as he grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and unscrewed the cap before he chugged the contents of the bottle.

He threw the bottle into the recycling bin before he made his way to his room where Sapphire laid in bed, he unfastened the sides of his IBA and pulled it from his body. The heavy vest clattered to the floor with a thud as he unzipped his hoodie and ripped it off, he let out a sigh of relief as the cold air hit his overheated body. "Hey there, sexy." Sapphire said seductively, Carmine turned around and saw his girlfriend staring at him, he put his hands behind his head and interlocked his fingers "You like what you see?" Carmine asked as he flexed his biceps and deltoids, Sapphire licked her lips as she took in the sight "I do but you need to take a shower." Sapphire said as she pointed toward the open shower door, Carmine shook his head as he took a pair of gym shorts, boxers, and a t-shirt from his dresser before he went into the bathroom to shower. He turned the shower on and let the water heat up, as the water warmed up, he thought to himself 'I guess I should practice singing while I shower.' Carmine thought to himself as he tapped the music player on his scroll, he selected a song before he stepped into the hot water. A dark acoustic guitar started to play softly before picking up louder.

 **Dogs of War – Blues Saraceno**

Carmine hummed the melody of the song as he felt the hot water run down his back and over his chest.

 **Hear the devil callin, hear the devil callin**

 **When I hear the devil callin' God will pay him for what he's do**

 **I can't stop the Dogs of War, I can't stop the Dogs of War.**

Carmine hummed the melody of the song again as he started to wash his shaggy hair.

 **See the fields burnin, see the fields burnin'**

 **When I see the feels burnin cause hell is coming through**

 **I can't stop the Dogs of War, I can't stop the dogs of war.**

Carmine hummed the melody of the song once again as he rinsed the shampoo from his hair.

 **Feel the river risin', feel the river risin'**

 **When I feel the river risin devil coming up from you**

 **I can't stop the Dogs of war, I can't stop the Dogs of war.**

 **I can't stop the Dogs of war, I can't stop the Dogs of war.**

As the song ended, a heavy beat came through the speaker that was accompanied with a guitar riff, Carmine nodded his head as he got into the groove of the beat.

 **Soldier – Neffex**

 **Yeah**

 **I spit raps like a heart attack, fast fatal hard impact**

 **Past painful scars in fact, I blast tasteful bars in packs**

 **I back up my actions, fact, don't ask, grab reactions, jacked**

 **Attack with every word then act with class, as they hear me snap**

 **I got nothing to lose, 'cause I fought and felt the bruise**

 **Now I'm not the one confused, call the shots and they produce**

 **I ain't lost I'm finally loose, pick a noose over excuse**

 **I need the views to boost me to a new abuse of being used.**

 **Everybody wants a piece now, y'all can rest in peace now**

 **Your dead to me so peace out, remember your discrete doubt**

 **Get ready for defeat now, I'm gon' make you bleed out**

 **Listen on repeat now and weed out all the weak now**

 **Get up and make a change, don't remember yesterday**

 **If you got something to say, speak your mind before your grave**

 **'cause your life is yours to save, ain't nobody gonna change**

 **Everybody stays the same, so be different, make a name, huh?**

 **And just like a soldier, I keep on moving forward**

 **Always getting closer, I march until it's over.**

 **And just like a soldier, I keep on moving forward**

 **Always getting closer, I march until it's over.**

The beat picked back up as Carmine stopped singing to catch his breath, he applied body wash to a rag and scrubbed his body.

" **It's ridiculous, I'm spitting this meticulous and limitless**

 **While others out there spitting shit, got hits up on the charts that sit**

 **I see why other artists quit: 'cause people don't reward good shit**

 **They love to hate but hate to live, society you swing and miss**

 **And honestly, I get it, promise me you won't regret it**

 **Wasting energy, forget it, don't look back, go on get it**

 **Bite the bullet just a bit, bite your tongue and don't say shit**

 **Make your actions hard to miss, be a legend not a myth**

 **It's obnoxious that I'm conscious, rapping honest**

 **As promised, try to harness, as an artist**

 **Stay modest, it's a long quest, I will not quit**

 **'til ten thousand people going off when I drop this**

 **I gotta make it now, swear to god I'm breaking out**

 **Swear to god I'll take a bow, center stage with a crowd**

 **'cause I got it figured out, I'm just honest and I'm loud**

 **Staying modest but I'm proud, no, I never had doubt, yea"**

" **And just like a soldier, I keep on moving forward**

 **Always getting closer, I march until it's over.**

 **And just like a soldier, I keep on moving forward**

 **Always getting closer, I march until it's over."**

Carmine turned the water off as the song ended and stepped out of the shower, he grabbed a towel and started to dry himself off, afterward he got dressed before he left the bathroom and walked into his bedroom, Sapphire was in bed on her scroll when Carmine crawled into bed with her and snuggled up under her arm. She couldn't help but giggle at his antics as he drapped his arm across her stomach "You like to sing, don't you?" Sapphire asked as she closed her scroll, Carmine chuckled lightly "Yeah, I used to sing at open mic nights before I joined the Wolf Pack so seeing as how I'm gonna be doing performances at clubs or stuff, I might as well prep my vocal chords." Carmine explained as he played with her hair, he looked up into her deep blue eyes and she looked into his Crimson red eyes "So, you wanna go out tonight?" He asked her as he held her in his arms.

"Yeah, I'd love to but I have to go back to my house to pick up some clothes." She said as she started to rub his back, she felt the scars on his back and traced the tattoo on his upper back, Carmine cleared his throat as he sat up next to Sapphire "Alright, I'll drive you home." Carmine said as he got out of bed to get dressed, he picked up a pair of black jeans off the floor and slipped his legs into the pants legs, buttoning and pulling up the zipper. Carmine pulled a t-shirt from the dresser and pulled it on over his torso, he grabbed his scroll, wallet, and keys from the top of the dresser, slipping them into his pockets as he slipped his shoes on. Sapphire got out of bed and pulled on a pair of sweat pants along with a pink hoodie, she turned around and looked at her boyfriend "I'm ready when you are, babe." Sapphire said in her usual bubbly manner as she wrapped her arms around Carmine's torso.

He rubbed her head and ruffled her hair, she looked up at him and puffed her cheeks out in anger "Stop it, you meanie." Sapphire said as she playfully slapped his hands away from her, Carmine chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her waist "You're so adorable sometimes." Carmine said as he let her go and grabbed his Five Seven from the top of the dresser, he tucked the pistol into his waistband. Carmine walked out of his bedroom with Sapphire behind him "Hey guys, I'm gonna run her by her house so she can pick up some clothes." Carmine said as he walked over to a set of keys that hung on the wall, Nightshade folded his hand and stood up "I'll go with you, better to have two guns than only one." Nightshade said as he withdrew his Glock 35 and checked the mag, Onyx slid him two extra mags across the table, Nightshade grabbed them and slid the mags into his pocket before he followed Carmine and Sapphire out the back door. Carmine beeped the coupe muscle car unlocked and got into the driver seat of the car, Nightshade opened the passenger door and into the backseat while Sapphire got into the front seat.

Carmine started the car and revved the engine as Sapphire fastened her seatbelt, Carmine shifted the car into first gear and pulled out from behind the Wolf Pack HQ, he turned the wheel to the right and sped down the road, as they neared a bend in the road, Carmine pulled the emergency break which caused the car to drift around the corner before it steadied out. Nightshade frequently looked out the back window as they drove down the road "How we looking, Nightshade?" Carmine asked as he shifted gears, Nightshade pulled back the slid of his pistol and held it in his lap "We're good." Nightshade said as he turned back around, Carmine slapped the shifter into neutral and pressed the brake as they turned right down a brick road. Carmine shifted the transmission into second and pressed the accelerator lightly as they neared a row of buildings that looked similar but had different number of windows in each, Carmine cut the engine off and let it roll to a stop outside the apartment buildings. Carmine and Nightshade got out of the car first with their pistols drawn, Sapphire got out of the passenger side of the car and made her way to the door to her apartment.

Carmine followed her into the building while Nightshade stood by the door outside with his pistol down to his side, Sapphire walked to a door at the end of the hall and inserted a key into the deadbolt lock, she twisted it to the left and pushed the door open to her apartment. Carmine followed her inside and shut the door behind them, Carmine sat down on a couch that was against the wall while Sapphire walked into her room "I'll be ready in about thirty minutes." Sapphire said from inside her bedroom.

Carmine rested his head against the wall behind him as he waited for her but he stood up "Hey, I'm gonna go wait outside." Carmine shouted before he exited her apartment and descended the stairs before walking outside where he stood next to Nightshade "She's grabbing a shower and will be out in a little bit." Carmine said as he leaned against the wall, Nightshade scanned the surrounding area as they waited for Sapphire. Nightshade looked to their right down the road and saw someone tuck back behind a wall "Contact, 3 o'clock." Nightshade said while looking forward, Carmine looked to his right out of the corner of his eye and he saw someone peeking out from behind the corner of a building, Carmine quickly turned his head to the right and saw someone move back behind the corner. "Wanna investigate?" Carmine asked as he returned his attention straight ahead.

Nightshade shook his head "Nah, I got her details: She looked to be about 18, 4'10, brown and pink hair." Nightshade said as he recounted her physical details, Carmine nodded as he checked the magazine in his pistol before he slapped it back into the receiver and tucked it into his waistband. "You ready for tonight?" Nightshade asked as he looked around the area, Carmine nodded his head "Hell yeah, we're in dire need of some relaxation." Carmine said as he leaned against the wall of the building, Nightshade nudged Carmine "Hey, pop the trunk real quick." Nightshade said as he walked toward the rear of the car, Carmine pulled out the key and pressed a blue button that caused the trunk to open up. Nightshade reached into the trunk and pulled out a Remington 870 shotgun, he started loading 12 gauge buckshots into the underside of the shotgun before he cocked the slide.

"There's a shotgun in there?" Carmine asked as he walked over to the back of the car where there was a small, mobile armory in the trunk. Nightshade unclipped the lid to a box on the left, he pulled out a set of black brass knuckles that had studs on the knuckles and handed them to Carmine "Keep these on you tonight." Nightshade said as Carmine put them into his pocket and closed the trunk afterward. As they turned around to face the door, Sapphire stepped out onto the brick road and presented herself to Carmine "Well… What do you think?" Sapphire asked as she held her purse in front of her, she wore a short black leather skirt along with a black and red corset and a pair of Six inch platform boot heels with black leggings. The black of her outfit was accented by her pale white skin, Carmine couldn't help but stare at her in amazement "You look beautiful, stunning, and gorgeous. I have no other words that describe how beautiful you look." Carmine said as she walked over to him and kissed him on the lips. He stepped back and opened the car door for her to get in, she got into the passenger seat and set her purse on the dash. Carmine and Nightshade walked around to the other side of the muscle car, Nightshade climbed into the back seat before Carmine got into the driver's seat.

He started the car up and shifted it into gear before tearing down the road, the muscle car quickly picked up speed as it neared 50 mph but he pulled the emergency brake as they neared a turn, the car drifted around the corner before straightening up as it tore down the street. Carmine down shifted as he pulled onto the road that led to the HQ, he lightly pressed the pedal as they drove down the street and pulled up out in front of the building.

Carmine opened the front door and entered the HQ where everyone was standing, putting their finishing touches onto their outfits "Hey guys! You ready?!" Carmine asked excitedly as he rounded the corner, Crimson walked over to the table and picked up a set of keys, he tossed them to Carmine who caught them with one hand "You and Sapphire take my bike while we take the Zorvette." Crimson said as he pulled on his white high tops and cleaned some dirt off of them. Carmine nodded and made his way to his room where he grabbed his jewelry from on top of the dresser and attached them to his body, two rings to his right hand, two silver necklaces around his neck and a silver watch to his left wrist. He walked out of his room and followed Onyx out of the HQ where everyone was standing, Carmine walked over to the side of the building and started up Crimson's bike; the engine roared to life and idled in place like an angry Ursa. He poked his head around the corner and looked at Sapphire "Hey, We're taking the bike." Carmine said, Sapphire hurried over to him and grabbed a helmet that Carmine was holding for her. Carmine got onto the bike and kicked up the kickstand, Sapphire got onto the bike behind him as he popped it into gear and slowly pulled out.

The other four followed behind them as they drove down the road, Carmine twisted the throttle and opened up the engine as he sped down the road with the others close behind them, in a matter of minutes they pulled up out front of a club with two guards out front. Carmine cut the engine off and deployed the kickstand before getting off the bike, Sapphire pulled her helmet off and shook her hair loose as a breeze blew across the area and caught her hair. Onyx, Crimson, Grullo, and Nightshade got out of the Zorvette and walked over to Carmine and Sapphire "Ready?" Onyx asked the couple, both of them nodded their head as they followed Onyx into the club, dance music could be heard playing loudly as the doors opened up and the six walked through the doorway into the club.

Crimson walked over to the bar and found Miltia standing next to her sister, Melanie. Onyx, Carmine, and the others followed suit as they made their way over to the bar and ordered multiple drinks as they watched Crimson chat with Miltia. "What do you think his odds are?" Carmine asked as he leaned against the bar as the bartender placed down a double whiskey on the rocks "I'd say about 3:1 in his favor." Onyx said as he held his bottle of beer half an inch from his lips before he took a drink from it. Nightshade walked over to Carmine and sat his Tequila on the bar "Hey Carmine, Onyx, check this out. I recorded this while we were in Atlas, I think it is something that the military is building." Nightshade said as he pulled his scroll out and played a video for the Sable brothers, on the screen was a large ship slowly moving in the harbor as it backed into a docking bay, four trucks with very large pipes on the back drove on the dock into the building where the ship was docking. Three Chinooks carried large cannons as they flew toward the harbor, a Blackhawk rose up from out of nowhere and the man in the side seat shouted "Hey kid! Stop! Give me that scroll!" The man yelled as the video got shakey before it cut out.

Onyx looked over at Carmine who just scratched his head "What you thinking?" Onyx asked as Carmine took a sip from his whiskey "I'm trying to think of what they could be building, it wouldn't be a destroyer, they have plenty. Do you think they were building a battleship?" Carmine asked as he looked up at his brother who shook his head "Whatever it is, it's big and they probably want to keep it a secret." Onyx said as his chugged the rest of his beer.

Grullo hammered back two shots of absinthe before he took a shot of 151 proof rum that was on fire "Holy shit, Grullo!" Onyx, Carmine, and Nightshade exclaimed at the same time as they watched the tank of a man continue to drink shot after shot. Carmine held up three fingers and signaled to the bartender, the bartender nodded and poured three shots of whiskey in front of Carmine who hammered them back one after another. Carmine stumbled a bit as he drank the third one and slammed the shot glass back down onto the table "Alright Grullo, you're on!" Carmine said as the bartender poured more shots, Grullo moved over next to Carmine and hammered back two more shots.

Nightshade tapped Carmine on the shoulder "Tag me in." Nightshade said as Carmine high fived him and traded places with him, Nightshade hammered back the shots that were on the bar top as Grullo hammered back his shots. Sapphire rubbed Carmine's back as he rested his head on the countertop "Why is everyone so eager to out drink Grullo?" Sapphire asked, Carmine lifted his head and looked at Sapphire "He has managed to out drink all of us so we have made it a point to out drink him just once." Carmine said as he shook his head and looked at the table "We're all going to die." Carmine said as he placed his head on the table. "Funny thing is, I'm not even buzzed." Grullo said in his deep voice as he took another shot and placed it on the bar, Sapphire giggled as she sipped her Aurora Borealis, the cocktail swelled from a light blue to a hazy purple and had light up ice cubes inside it that changed colors sending shades of reds, blues, and greens shining through the haze of the liquor.

Onyx leaned against the bar and picked up another beer as the bartender took his empty bottle, the bass from the music caused the room to shake as it played loudly, the bodies of the people blended together as the music continued to play. As the song ended, the bass hit hard as the next song kicked on and sent a loud boom throughout the club, the sound of distorted electric guitar blared through the speakers as the 808s hit along with other distorted and electronic sounds that sent chills down Carmine's spine " **OPEN UP THE GATES, WELCOME TO MAYHEM!"** The bass dropped and shook the room, the contents of Sapphire's drink vibrated everytime the bass hit " **GATES!"** Carmine looked up at the dance floor and saw Crimson headbanging by the Subwoofer wall, Carmine looked back over at the bar and saw Nightshade bent over on the bar while Grullo held his hands up in triumph "Haha, I'm 4-0 now!" Grullo said with a mixture of confidence and arrogance " **WELCOME TO MAYHEM! MAYHEM! MAYHEM! MAYHEM! MAYHEM!"** The vocals continued as the song built up again, Carmine nodded his head along with the song as it played through the giant speakers " **WELCOME TO!"** The vocals cut out as the bass dropped and shook the room as everyone seemed to get caught in the hard hitting sound of the metalstep that the DJ with a large bear mask on, the eyes seemed to pulsate with red lights. " **GATE!"** Sapphire finished her drink and grabbed Carmine by the hand, she pulled him into the pit and moved toward the stage while she kept her back toward the subwall.

" **GATE!"** Carmine felt the bass hit even harder now that he was closer to the source of the sound " **WELCOME TO MAYHEM!"** The bass hit one more time before it transformed into an entirely new song as the sound of a piano replaced the heavyness of 808s from the last song, an electric guitar cut in as Carmine and Sapphire vibed along with the dubstep that played from the speakers, the beat tempo grew faster as it built up to the crescendo of the song. **"IT'S A FUCKING RATTLESNAKE!"** The bass dropped and shook the crowd again, the pit turned into a flurry of hair and bodies as everyone vibed to the intense dubstep, some headbanged while others would grind on their partners; Carmine and Sapphire were the former as they headbanged together and tried their best not to hit each other. The bass kicked heavily as the synths and the filthy bass ripped through the crowd as they were rocked by the wubs and dubs. The music cut low as it approached its rebuild phase, the distorted sound of vocals echoed through the speakers before being over taken by an electric guitar as the kicks grew more rapid as the bass dropped and shook the floor, the barrage of dubstep washed over the crowd like a tsunami as it ravaged the soul of its listeners **"IT'S A FUCKING RATTLESNAKE!"** The distorted vocals played one last time before they cut out and the area went dark.

A small light flickered on stage as the static from the subs groaned through the crowd, the sound of tapping on a xylophone echoed from the speakers before they were accompanied by a high pitch chiming **"LET THE BASS CANNON KICK IT! LET THE BASS CANNON KICK IT! LET THE BASS CANNON KICK IT! LET THE BASS CANNON KICK IT!"** The deep vocals sung out before a loud electric sound blasted from the speakers with a **'NYEEEOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW' (Bass cannon, bass cannon, bass cannon, bass cannon, bass cannon, bass cannon.)** Carmine stood up to catch his breath and looked around the room, he looked to his left and saw Crimson and Miltia up against a wall making out with each other, Miltia ran her fingers through his hair as they went at it.

Carmine chuckled before he turned around and looked to his right, he peered through the crowd of people and saw Onyx sitting on a sofa with Melanie on his lap with one his arms wrapped around her waist and the other gripped the neck of a bottle of Hpnotiq that he sipped from occasionally. A man clad in an upscale casual look and black sunglasses walked over to Onyx and tapped him on the shoulder "Hands off the girls!" The man said as he grabbed Melanie by the wrist and pulled her away from Onyx, she yelped in pain as her heels clicked against the marble floor. Onyx tipped the bottle up and drank the liquor before he stood up, he sat the bottle down on a glass table "I'm pretty sure she's her own person there, bro." Onyx said as he wiped a drop a liquor from his lip that trailed down his chin a bit, two other men clad in black suits and red sunglasses walked up "Want us to take care of him, boss?" One of the goons asked the stocky man as he gripped Melanie's arm, he nodded before he dragged Melanie back toward the bar.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Grullo said as he cracked his knuckles and rolled his neck, cracking the vertebrae. The stocky man stopped in his tracks and looked up at the tank of a man, he gulped in fear as he let go of Melanie's wrist, she backed away as Grullo walked toward the tall man and lifted him off the ground by the collar of his shirt "Now, why would you do that to a sweet girl like her?" Grullo asked as he pulled the tall man close to his face, the stocky man fumbled with his words as he tried to form an excuse as beads of sweat formed on his face "She needs to be serving the more VIP guests." The man said as he gulped audibly, Grullo let go of him but shoved him back toward Onyx "Here, you deal with him." Grullo said as he scratched the side of his head, Carmine shook his head before he grabbed Sapphire by the hand and pulled her close to him "Hey babe, I got to go help them out. I'll be back in a couple of minutes." Carmine said before he kissed her on the lips and exited the crowd.

Carmine jogged up a few stairs and stood next to Onyx "Hey, what did I miss?" Carmine asked as he looked at the tall man who backed up a few steps "Well, I was just sitting back with her on my lap and he came over to me and started raising hell that I shouldn't touch her like she's his property or some shit." Onyx said as he picked his liquor bottle back up and tipped it up in the air, the liquor rushed down his throat as he drank from the bottle. Nightshade sat at a high table and poured out some green plant chunks into an empty cigarillo, he licked the edge of tobacco wrapper before rolling it up tight and placing it between his lips. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a lighter, he flicked the iron roller and sparked a flame which he used to light the end of his blunt, the spliff burned at the end as it glowed orange and smoked as Nightshade took a deep drag from the blunt as he walked over to the group of people "Alright ladies, let's break it up." Nightshade said as he exhaled a cloud of smoke into the air, Carmine inhaled the smoke and thought for a moment "Blue dream?" He asked curiously, Nightshade nodded as he passed the blunt to Carmine who looked at the smoking blunt but shook his head as he gave it to Onyx who took it and gave it a heavy drag, the fire at the end crept slowly as it ate away at the blunt.

"Hey, you can't do that in here!" The tall man said but Onyx just exhaled the smoke into his face "And you shouldn't manhandle the ladies." Onyx said as he passed the joint back to Nightshade, Carmine stepped between the stocky man and Onyx "Look, let's just cool it before this goes too far, alright? We'll chill here and won't cause you any trouble and you let the ladies make their own decisions like the adults they are." Carmine said as he tried to prevent a fight from breaking out, the man nodded and extended his hand "Deal, the name is Junior Xiong by the way." Junior said as Carmine shook his hand, Junior turned around and walked away with his henchmen following behind him.

Carmine let out a sigh of relief as the heavy dubstep died down and the sound of chatter filled the room, one of Junior's henchmen walked up to the mic and cleared his throat "At this time, we would like to open the stage to the room for open mic night, anyone interested?" The man asked as he looked around the room but no one budged until Sapphire raised her hand "Yeah, I'll do it." She said with enthusiasm as she moved through the crowd to the stage, she ran up the stairs and slid across the stage, bumping into the man holding the microphone "I want to dedicate this song to my amazing boyfriend, Carmine. I love you more each day." Sapphire said as the house band members took their place at their instruments.

A soft piano began to play as the a kickdrum followed it up along with a snare

 **Truly, Madly, Deeply – Savage Garden (Cascada Cover)**

 **I'll be your dream, I'll be your wish, I'll be your fantasy, I'll be your hope, I'll be your love, Be everything that you need**

 **I'll love you more with every breath Truly, madly, deeply do. I will be strong I will be faithful 'Cause I'm counting on A new beginning A reason for living A deeper meaning, yeah.**

 **I wanna stand with you on a mountain, I wanna bathe with you in the sea, I wanna lay like this forever until the sky falls down on me**

 **And when the stars are shining brightly in the velvet sky, I'll make a wish, send it to heaven then make you want to cry, the tears of joy for all the pleasure and the certainty  
That we're surrounded by the comfort and protection of the highest powers  
In lonely hours the tears devour you  
**

**I wanna stand with you on a mountain, I wanna bathe with you in the sea, I wanna lay like this forever until the sky falls down on me**

 **Oh, can you see it, baby? You don't have to close your eyes 'cause it's standing right before you all that you need will surely come.**

 **I'll be your dream, I'll be your wish, I'll be your fantasy, I'll be your hope, I'll be your love, Be everything that you need**

 **I'll love you more with every breath  
Truly, madly, deeply do**

 **I wanna stand with you on a mountain, I wanna bathe with you in the sea, I wanna lay like this forever until the sky falls down on me**

 **I wanna stand with you on a mountain, I wanna bathe with you in the sea, I wanna lay like this forever until the sky falls down on me**

Sapphire closed her eyes as she finished singing the last note and was shaken back to reality when the crowd erupted into cheers and applause, Sapphire bowed nervously before she skipped off stage and over to where Carmine was sitting "So, what did you think?" She asked giddily with her arms behind her back as she twisted in place, waiting for his response. Carmine shook his head "I… I don't know what to say, that was just amazing and beautiful." Carmine said as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his embrace, he got close to her ear and whispered into it "And do I got a surprise for you." Carmine said as he gestured to Onyx and Nightshade as they sat on the sofa, Onyx nodded back as Nightshade signaled to Grullo and Crimson. The four mercenaries made their way onto the stage as Carmine let go of Sapphire, he made his way to the stairs and jogged up them to the stage.

Carmine looked around the stage and saw everyone was already in place: Grullo on the drumset, Nightshade slid his fingers up the neck of an electric guitar, Onyx adjusted the frets of his electric guitar next to nightshade, and Crimson tuned his six string bass guitar. Carmine stood in front of the mic stand and looked over the sea of people who gazed back with anticipation, Carmine cleared his throat and spoke into the microphone "Alright ladies and gentlemen, we're not gonna do a song." Carmine said which caused the crowd to mutter amongst themselves until Carmine spoke again "No, we're gonna do about three or four songs." Carmine announced, the crowd cheered as he backed away from the mic stand.

 **[CA= Carmine, O= Onyx, N= Nightshade, CR= Crimson]**

 **Resonance – NateWantsToBattle (Soul Eater English Cover)**

Nightshade ran his fingers up the neck of the guitar, pressing down the chords as he ripped out the intro riff.

 **CA: Two become one our soul's have been connected, a bond that's stronger than words and now in sync we scream our fates will come together and it will not go unheard.**

Onyx stepped forward a few steps as he shredded out a mini solo ****

 **CA: Locking eyes becoming intertwined  
You'll be sharing your fate with mine  
Side by side we'll battle through the night  
And soon enough we'll find our way**

 **CA, CR: When the sun has set, we'll battle through nightmares  
We won't give up  
I will stay by your side as we slip into madness**

 **CA: Two become one our soul's have been connected  
A bond that's stronger than words  
And now in sync we scream our fates will come together  
And it will not go unheard**

 **CA: I-I-I could care less where it is you came from  
beause we see what's waiting ahead**

 **CA: I knew from the first time that we became connected  
I'll be with you till the end.**

The crowd began to cheer but Carmine held his hand up "But wait, there's more." Carmine said as Crimson and Onyx readied their finger placements.

 **Every Time We Touch – Jonathan Young (Originally by Cascada)**

 **CA: I still hear your voice when you sleep next to me I still feel your touch in my dreams, Forgive me my weakness but I don't know why without you it's hard to survive.**

 **CA, O: 'Cause every time we touch I get this feeling Every time we kiss, I swear I can fly Can't you feel my heart beat fast I want this to last I need you by my side 'Cause every time we touch I feel the static, Every time we kiss I reach for the sky Can't you hear my heart beat slow I can't let you go I want you in my life.**

Onyx and Nightshade walked to the front of the stage as they played the solo riff, Grullo hit the double kick drum as Nightshade and Onyx ripped into a duo solo, playing in tandem with each other.

 **CA: You arms are my castle, your heart is my sky They wipe all the tears that I cry. The good and the bad times We've been through it all You make me rise when I fall.**

 **CA, O: 'Cause every time we touch I get this feeling Every time we kiss, I swear I can fly Can't you feel my heart beat fast I want this to last I need you by my side 'Cause every time we touch I feel the static, Every time we kiss I reach for the sky Can't you hear my heart beat slow I can't let you go I want you in my life.**

 **CR: 'Cause every time we touch I get this feeling Every time we kiss, I swear I can fly Can't you feel my heart beat fast I want this to last I need you by my side**

 **CA, O: 'Cause every time we touch I feel the static, Every time we kiss I reach for the sky Can't you hear my heart beat slow I can't let you go I want you in my life.**

 **CA: 'Cause every time we touch I get this feeling Every time we kiss, I swear I can fly Can't you feel my heart beat fast I want this to last I need you by my side.**

The crowd erupted into a mass of screams and cheers as they finished playing, Nightshade shook his hand as he stopped playing. Carmine looked over the cheering mass and spoke into the mic again "Alright, last song but this one won't be about love." Carmine said as Grullo started to play along with Crimson who kept a steady rhythm.

 **7734 – Sabaton (Do Glatem Live is Evil Metal God backwards)**

 **CA: The dawn of time breaks See the sun rise to the sky The wheel of time begins to turn But then we heard it A divine voice out of nowhere Spoke to our hearts and showed the way**

 **CA: Almighty lord we have come to your hall Do glatem live, creator of all Open your heart and you will find a way Paradise calling and enter you may**

 **O, N: Falling down**

 **CA: Now your soul returns to paradise**

 **O, N: Falling down**

 **CA: Double seven thirty-four**

 **CA: The wheel kept turning, ages came Time passed us by, we lived in perfect harmony. But then it happened our ranks decreased rapidly, but now it's time for our return**

 **CA, CR: Once we were numerous But that's long ago we are no more Double seven three four, last 2 united and 2 became 1 one hundred eleven, they perished in flames**

 **O, N: Falling down**

 **CA: Now your soul returns to paradise**

 **O, N: Falling down**

 **CA: Double seven thirty-four**

Onyx bobbed his head as he shredded out a solo, his fingers turned into a blur on the neck of the guitar. He walked to the edge of the stage as he ripped through the solo.

 **CA, CR: Almighty lord we have come to your hall Do glatem live, creator of all Open your heart and you will find a way Paradise calling and enter you may.**

 **O, N: Falling down**

 **CA: Now your soul returns to paradise**

 **O, N: Falling down**

 **CA: Double seven thirty-four**

 **O, N: Falling down**

 **CA: Now your soul returns to paradise**

 **O, N: Falling down**

 **CA: Double seven thirty-four**

As they finished, the lights cut out as the crowd went ballistic and cheered wildly as they exited the stage and made their way to the bar where Sapphire was standing "That was so cool guys!" Sapphire said excitedly as the guys leaned against the bar "Man, the crowd loved us!" Onyx said as he grabbed his bottle of Hpnotiq for the glass table and turned the bottle upward, the blue liquor rushed down his throat as he drank from the bottle. Crimson cleared his throat "You guys want to see my semblance?" He asked as he sipped from bottle of water, everyone looked at him confused but Onyx was the first to speak up "Sure, let's see it." Onyx said as he placed the bottle onto the counter, Crimson stepped away from the counter "We should go outside for this one." Crimson said as he made his way toward the door, Onyx shrugged before following him along with the others behind him.

They walked out into the cool night air as the sound of cars on the highway off in the distance filled the air, Crimson walked into the middle of the street and pulled his shirt off, tossing it to the side. Miltia and Melanie joined the members of Wolf Pack on the sidewalk as they watched Crimson stand in the middle of the street "What is he doing?" Miltia asked curiously but the others just shrugged. "I want one of you to punch me in the gut as hard as you can." Crimson said as he held his arms out to his side, the guys looked at each other before Grullo stepped forward and walked toward Crimson "Oh this should be great!" Carmine said as he got his scroll out, he turned the camera on and started recording the two men in the street, Grullo drew his fist back and brought up into Crimson's gut but he didn't flinch. Crimson grinned as he moved to his right so that the road was behind Grullo "Alright Grullo, hang on." Crimson said as he drew his fist back and punched Grullo straight in the gut, the punch sent Grullo flying down the street and into a parked SUV which molded around the tank of a man. Everyone stared in disbelief at what they just saw "And that is my semblance, Kinetic Damper." Crimson said as he picked his shirt up off the ground and pulled it on over his body, the sound of metal bending echoed through the street as Grullo pulled himself out of the now totaled SUV.

Grullo shook his head as he walked away from the destroyed vehicle, he rotated his arm as he popped his shoulder back into its socket as he walked down the street toward the group "Haha, that's good Crimson but, it's my turn now." Grullo said as he cracked his knuckles, Carmine looked at Crimson "Run bitch, run!" Carmine yelled as Crimson took off running down the road, Grullo went from a brisk walk to a dead sprint down the street as he chased after Crimson. As they watched Grullo chase Crimson, time seemed to slow as Grullo caught up with Crimson in a matter of seconds and wrapped his arms around his waist before he slammed him into the brick road, the impact left Crimson in a small crater in the road. "Man, fuck your semblance!" Crimson said as he cradled his gut in pain, Sapphire looked confused "Wait, how did he catch him so fast?" She asked as the others watched the two, Carmine looked over at her "Grullo's semblance is Time Dilation, he insists on calling it Time's Up." Carmine said as he shuddered at the bad pun, Grullo picked Crimson up and carried him back to the group "Alright, you guys want to call it a night?" He asked as he carried a now unconscious Crimson, everyone nodded in agreement. Onyx pulled out 2,000 lien and walked inside to pay the bar tab, as he made his way to the bar he noticed a man in a bowler hat talking to Junior in the back.

Onyx placed down the lien and paid the entire group's tab "Keep the change." Onyx said as he made his way to the exit and stepped back out into the night, Miltia kissed Crimson on the forehead as Grullo held him over his shoulder. Onyx looked over at Melanie who was staring at him "Will I see you again?" She asked nervously, Onyx smirked as he looked into her green eyes "You can see me whenever you want to." Onyx said as he took her scroll and typed his number into it, he handed back to her before he rejoined his group and they made their way back to their vehicles. Carmine got onto the bike and kick started the motorcycle, Sapphire got onto bike with Carmine and pulled on a helmet before he pulled out of the alley. Onyx, Grullo, Nightshade, and an unconscious Crimson followed in the Zorvette as they drove back to the HQ, the bike leaned down toward the ground as it took a corner with ease. Carmine twisted the throttle and opened the engine up, the pistons rose and collapsed as the dust crystals exploded inside the engine, he watched as the speedometer crept closer to 100mph as they sped down the street.

Carmine cut the engine off and let the bike coast down the street as it near the dead end of the street, Carmine turned the handlebar to the left and pulled behind the Wolf Pack HQ where he parked it beside a large armored truck and a Humvee with a mounted HMG, he kicked the kickstand out and leaned the bike to the left. The Zorvette pulled in behind him and parked beside the Humvee on the other side, Sapphire pulled her helmet off and shook her hair loose, combing a few strands from her face as she held the helmet in her hand. "So, do you have your own vehicle or no?" Sapphire asked Carmine as he pulled his helmet off and sat it on the dust tank "Oh, I have my own vehicle, this is it." Carmine said as he slammed his fist on the side of the large armored truck, the truck was a Terradyne Gurkha MPV Armored Truck that had a M2 Browning mounted on the roof. "Yeah, he insisted on getting this and not a normal truck, cause fuck blending in." Onyx said as he walked around the trucks and toward the couple, Grullo followed behind him with Crimson over his shoulder and Nightshade behind him. Carmine unlocked and opened the backdoor, ushering Sapphire, Grullo, and Nightshade inside; Onyx was about to walk in when his scroll started ringing.

Carmine and Onyx both looked at the scroll confused as the screen displayed Ironwood's name "Why is he calling at this time of night?" Carmine asked confused, Onyx shrugged as he answered the call "Wolf Pack, Onyx speaking." Onyx said as he put it the call on through the speaker "This is General Ironwood, uhh… Something has come up and we need your help, Wolf Pack. The White Fang, along with another unknown group, have captured one of Atlas's bases in the western side of Sanus." Ironwood said, which caused the Sable brothers to freeze in their place "Atlas made a deal with Vacuo, that in exchange for access to resources that Atlas has, they let us put a couple military bases in that part of Sanus, we made the same deals with Vale and Mistral. It seems that Forward Operating Base Triton was taken over, it is crucial that we get it back." Ironwood explained, Onyx cut in "Why can't you have your military do it?" He asked confused, Ironwood sighed "We're not allowed to have Atlas military personal act on foreign soil unless during a time of war or the council has requested it, we're doing this under the radar so this won't make the news, we will only have military personal who have already been authorized to act in Sanus." Ironwood explained, Carmine sighed and banged his head on the door "Fine, but we're being paid big this time." Carmine said as he shook his head in disbelief, there was a pause for a moment before Ironwood responded "Great, I'll have a VTOL pick your team up in the morning and take you to a rally point where you will meet up with the 184th Mistral Militia and their Panzer Divisions, Atlas will provide the Wolf Pack with vehicles and Munitions." Ironwood said as he ended the call, Carmine and Onyx looked at each other "I'll call Keppel." Onyx said as he opened the contact list on his scroll, Carmine walked inside and got everyone's attention "Guess what everybody, we're going to war!" Carmine said sarcastically.

 **(A/N: This chapter took a long while to write, but it is finally done. It took a lot out of me but I feel that Wolf Pack will be a good prequel to Titan Rising, hopefully Chapter 4 won't take as long as this one did, stay tuned for more and remember to Favorite, Follow, and Review and as always, this is Nightmare 6-4, signing off.)**


	4. Chapter 4: Desert Wolves

Wolf Pack Ch. 4: The Desert Wolf

 **I do not own RWBY, RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum (R.I.P.) nor do I own any media that may appear in the story. I only own the OCs, Enjoy! Remember to Favorite, Follow, and leave a Review.**

The room was dead silent as everyone stared at Carmine like he had a second head growing out his neck "What the fuck?! Are you serious?" Nightshade asked confused, Carmine nodded "Afraid so, we got conscripted by our good friend, General Ironwood, because apparently there's too much red tape for his military to act, they lost contact with a key military outpost east of Vacuo. Also, we'll rally up with the 184th Mistral Militia and assault the base, preapproved Atlas personal from other bases will assist us in the assault." Carmine explained nonchalantly. The sound of a scroll hitting the floor echoed throughout the silent room.

Carmine turned his attention toward the sound and saw Sapphire standing there with tears starting to well up in her eyes "Unbelievable." Sapphire said before walking into Carmine's room and shutting the door behind her, Carmine ran over to the door and tried to open it "Sapphire, Sapphire what's wrong?" Carmine asked while he knocked on the door, Sapphire swung the door open and poked him in the chest with her finger "You know damn well what's wrong! You guys always do this, so quick to jump at the first sign of danger without a second thought about those that it may affect." Sapphire said before she dropped her head as she cried, Carmine pulled her into his embrace "Hey, we do this so that innocent people don't die and that we can make good money to live a better life." Carmine said as he rubbed her back, she looked up and buried her face into his chest "I'm afraid to lose you, I'm afraid that one day you'll go off on a job and won't come home." Sapphire said before she looked up at Carmine "Please promise me you'll come back home to me." Sapphire asked, Carmine chuckled "Of course I'll come back to you, I love you, Sapphire." Carmine said as he squeezed her tighter.

She wrapped her arms around his waist "Funny, you're kind of like a Titan, you're like Perses and Pallas who were Titan gods of Destruction and Warcraft." Sapphire said as she rested her head on his chest, Carmine looked up in thought "Huh, I like that." Carmine said before Sapphire pipped up again "That could be your name, Carmine "Titan" Sable. It sounds cool." Sapphire said excitedly, Carmine chuckled "I was thinking the same thing." He said as he rubbed her head.

Onyx walked in and rubbed his head "Alright, Keppel is on his way here now. I guess we should get some sleep before we head out in the morning." Onyx said, everyone nodded in agreement before heading to their rooms, Carmine shut the door behind him as Sapphire crawled into the bed "I wonder what we'll be facing tomorrow? Probably just some White Fang grunts." Carmine said to himself as he was getting undressed, he placed his jewelry into a black box and closed the lid to the container. Carmine unfastened his black jeans and let them hit the floor, the buckle hit the floor with a thud as he stepped out of the pants legs and climbed into bed next to Sapphire, she rested her head onto his chest and let out a sigh of contentment. As they laid in bed, the wave of fatigue washed over them as they slipped into slumber in each other's embrace.

 ***Five Hours Later***

" _ **Carmine! Run!"**_ **An unknown voice echoed from within the darkness that enveloped Carmine, he looked around as a light began to illuminate the area around him. Carmine turned in circles as he tried to figure out where he was** _ **"Keppel! Take my hand!"**_ **Another voice echoed through the darkness as Carmine stood there confused, he looked down at his feet and watched as a black cloud of gas began to envelop his legs. The hair on the back of his neck stood up as he heard the snarl of a beast behind him** _ **"Isn't she pretty…"**_ **A dark voice whispered into Carmine's ear, he jerked around but saw nobody. A figure appeared from the darkness, she had long black hair and pale skin, a large creature appeared behind her and towered over her** _ **"You'll go and leave her all alone."**_ **The creature said as it placed a large claw up to her throat and pushed down lightly, drawing blood from her skin, the woman looked up at Carmine which caused him to go pale "Sapphire?!" Carmine said before the creature snapped her neck like a twig.**

Carmine shot up in bed panting and drenched in sweat, his heart was racing as he looked around the dark room. "Babe, what's wrong?" Sapphire asked as she sat up, Carmine lowered his head as he released a sigh of anxiety from his shaking body "It was a terrible nightmare… I… I want you to stay with a friend of mine, he'll keep you safe." Carmine said as he stared at his leg, Sapphire nodded slowly while still being worried about Carmine. Carmine picked up his scroll and opened it, he tapped open the messenger and sent a message to a contact labeled 'Q.B.'. He received a reply in an instant 'Sure, I'll be at the air docks with an airship ready.' Carmine read the message to himself before closing the scroll again.

As he was about to go back to sleep, there was a knock at his door "Carmine wake up, it's almost 8 am." Keppel said through the door, Carmine stood up and flipped the light on in the room. Sapphire groaned as she pulled herself out of bed and walked into the bathroom while Carmine got dressed, he pulled out a black long sleeve hoodie made of breathable fabric and lined with ballistic weaving and pulled it on over his body. Carmine pulled on his Crye Precision Combat Pants and secured the belt that also attached to his holsters, the rifleman sat back on the bed and pulled on his black combat boots; he fastened the sides and tied the laces before pulling the pants leg over them. Carmine stood up and fixed his clothes before he pulled on his Heavy IBA, he fastened the straps and secured the sides of the vest.

Carmine opened the door and walked out into the main room, Sapphire followed him out and sat down on the sofa as Carmine prepped his gear with the rest of his team. Crimson finished loading his mags and placed them in the pouch of his molle vest, Carmine reached into the weapons locker and pulled out his SCAR-H; he laid it down onto the weapon's table as he grabbed another gun from the wall of weapons, this one being PP-19 Bizon along with multiple cylindrical magazines that were preloaded, thanks to Nightshade. Carmine put one of the mags in a pouch on his side and rest into his bag, Crimson helped him attach the submachine gun to the side of his backpack with two powerful magnets that were woven into the side of his bag, the weapon snapped to the bag and refused to budge when it was lightly tugged on.

"Looks good, you should be good," Crimson said as he slapped his back, Carmine picked up his SCAR and adjusted the sights on the top rail before he placed it on the other side of the backpack. Onyx pulled out the drawer of sidearms and looked at the weapons before he pulled out a P226 "Carmine, what sidearm do you want?" Onyx asked his brother, Carmine looked over at his brother "Five Seven with extended mags." Carmine said as he loaded a few grenades into his pouch, Onyx slid the pistol over along with five spare large mags. Grullo sat an H&K MG4 on the table and attached the box mag to the side of the large gun before loading the chain of bullets into the receiver, he closed the top and pulled back the bolt on the side which loaded the first bullet into the gun. Nightshade opened the weapons cabinet and stared at the wall of weapons "Hey Crimson, G3 or FAL?" Nightshade asked the infantryman who was loading his Beretta 92fs clip with 9mm rounds "Hmm, I'll say go with the FAL since it has a better grouping than the G3." Crimson explained as he slapped the magazine into the receiver of the pistol.

Nightshade grabbed a large black and brown rifle from the cabinet, he picked up a Prisma 3.4x sight and attached it to the top rail on the FAL, tightening the screws to hold the scope onto the rifle. He lifted the rifle up and aimed at the wall while looking down the sight while twisting the knob on top of the scope, Carmine picked up an ERGO grip off of a shelf and tossed it to Nightshade who slid it onto the under barrel of the FAL. Onyx pulled out a black box and placed it on the table "Here Carmine, try this on." Onyx said as Carmine grabbed the box and unlatched the lid, he removed the lid and set it down on the table, Carmine was met with the glare of two red eyes of an Invader King TM Gas Mask "This is so cool!" Carmine said as he lifted the mask out of the box, Onyx leaned against the table "It's completely armored and the eyes are reflective, you can see out but nobody can see in. The filters have about a ten-month life before they need to be changed, I'll introduce you to our supplier when we get back, his name is Mindaro; he supplies us with specialty weapons and ammo." Onyx said as he slid a business card across the table, Carmine picked it up and examined the card that read 'Mindaro's Munitions: Four out of five voices in your head agree.'

Carmine slipped the card into his pocket before he pulled the gas mask on and tightened the back straps onto his head, he grabbed his hood and lifted it up over his head. Crimson and Onyx stared at Carmine while he stood there in his full gear "Damn, that is some scary shit right there. I would hate to see that coming after me at night." Crimson said as he slid his knife into the sheath on his chest. Sapphire bounded around the corner and came to look at the sight in front of her "Wow. You look so awesome!" Sapphire said as she examined all of Carmine, from his head to his feet. Carmine walked towards Sapphire and looked down at her, his boots made a loud thud on the hardwood floor as he approached her; he placed his hands on her waist and pulled her close to him "I'm gonna miss you while I'm gone." Carmine said, his voice sounded distorted through the filters on the gas mask. Sapphire buried her head into his chest "Please come back to me, please." Sapphire said as she started to tear up, Carmine placed his hands on her back as he held her; Crimson cleared his throat "We won't let anything happen to him so don't worry." Crimson said as he leaned against the wall, the others agreed with a resounding 'Yep'. Onyx stepped forward and looked at Sapphire "As long as he is with us, we won't let anything happen to him, you have my word." Onyx said, Sapphire turned around and looked at Carmine's brother, she wiped away her tears and sniffled slightly "Thank you, I hope you all stay safe." Sapphire said as Carmine held her tightly.

Keppel walked around the corner while holding Charon on his shoulder "Wheels up in ten minutes." Keppel said as he adjusted his molle carrier vest. He picked up a Glock 35 out of the drawer and slapped a fresh magazine into it before placing it into the holster on his hip, Crimson handed him five spare clips for him to put into his vest and bag. Crimson pulled a balaclava on over his head and covered up everything except for his eyes, Grullo handed him a tan ballistic combat helmet along with a throat mic and a pair of ESS goggles "We'll be in the desert so make sure to wear face covering and eye protection, don't want any of you to go blind from a stray sandstorm." Onyx said as he put on a Viper A3 Tactical Ballistic Helmet, the mouth guard secured under his chin and locked in place.

Nightshade grabbed an Avon M50 gas mask that was hanging on the wall along with MICH Viper Black Combat Helmet, Grullo pulled a black K6-3 helmet out of a box and sat it on the table, the helmet made a loud thud as it hit the table "Wow, that is a hunk of metal right there." Carmine said as he stared at the helmet, Grullo grinned "I may or may not have taken this off one of the Devil's Disciples." Grullo said vaguely, everyone stared at Grullo in disbelief. "What? He wasn't using it." Grullo said shrugging as he put it onto his head and secured the strap under his chin. One by one, the members of Wolf Pack left the armory and regrouped by the front door, Sapphire clutched a bag of spare clothes and accessories. Onyx opened the door and guided everyone out onto the street, he closed and locked the door behind him as the others made their way to the airdock.

Onyx jogged lightly as he caught up with the others, Crimson handed the leader of Wolf Pack his AK-103 as they walked through the marketplace. As they neared the air dock, two bullheads sat on the dock facing two different directions "Why are there two VTOLs here?" Crimson asked as they stepped onto air dock, Carmine stopped as a man with jet black hair stepped out of the VTOL on the right "I called in a favor, Sapphire, you'll be staying at Beacon Academy as a VIP. Since we have made a lot of enemies, it would be best for her to be as far from danger as possible." Carmine said as the man with jet black hair walked up to the group "Sapphire, this is Qrow Branwen, he'll take you to Beacon." Carmine said as Qrow took Sapphire's bag for her, Carmine pulled his face mask off and clipped it to his side "Look, I just want you to stay safe. I love you, Sapphire." Carmine said as he hugged her tightly, she rested her head against his chest "I know, I love you too, Carmine." Sapphire said as she looked up and kissed him on the lips before making her way to the VTOL.

The doors shut as the engines engaged and spat jets of hot fire from the thrusters and pushed the bullhead off of the ground and into the air, Carmine watched as the VTOL disappeared into the clouds. He rejoined Wolf Pack as they boarded the other VTOL, they sat down with three on either side of the transport and the back ramp closed as it took off into the sky. "Alright boys, check your weapons and gear." Onyx said as he pulled back the bolt on the side of his AK-103, Carmine looked over at Keppel who was tweaking his the scope on his heavy rifle "Keppel, would you do us the honor of blessing us?" Carmine asked the sniper who nodded and knelt down with his head bowed along with the others who bowed their heads.

"Brave warriors, should fate find us in battle, May our cause be just. May our leaders have clear vision. May our courage not falter. May we be triumphant and earn victory as we show no mercy to our enemies. May our efforts bring lasting peace. May our sacrifice be always appreciated by those we serve. May we return to our loved ones unharmed. Should we be harmed, may our wounds heal. Should we perish in the struggle, may the Gods embrace us and find for us a place in their Kingdom. Amen" Keppel chanted as he delivered the warrior's prayer, he stood up and sat back down on the bench next to Grullo who gripped the barrel of his MG4 tightly "I wonder what the 184th is bringing to the fight." Crimson asked as he played with his Ka-Bar, accidentally knicking his thumb. "I'm gonna guess a lot of tanks and maybe some artillery, they'll be the brunt of the attacking force." Onyx said as he examined his scroll and swiped over on a few pictures.

"ETA: FOUR MINUTES!" The pilot shouted over the intercom, Carmine and Onyx looked at each other confused "Why'd he yell that information?" Crimson asked as he looked toward the cockpit, the intercom cut back on "SHIT! LZ IS HOT! SOMEONE HOP ON THAT DOOR GUN!" The pilot yelled as the flight started to get bumpy, Nightshade shot up and ran over to the mounted M134 Minigun as the side door slid open. Red and green flares marked their LZ near a collection of tan tents by the water line, Beowolves and Ursa walked around the area looking for a target, Nightshade pressed the two buttons with his thumbs and caused the barrel to spin up before it spat a barrage of bullets toward the ground.

Bullets ripped through the Grimm and shredded them like lettuce in a blender, one by one they were ripped to pieces and slowly began to dissipate into a cloud of black smoke. A Beowolf charged at a man who was firing at an Ursa but it was cut in half by the stream of bullets coming from the minigun up above, the intercom clicked on one more time "Cease fire, LZ is clear. Touching down." The pilot said as the wheels extended as the bullhead started to land.

The wheels pushed into the warm sand as the back opened up and the Wolf Pack exited with their weapons raised, they moved slowly into the makeshift camp with two guns pointed forward, one left, one right, and two behind. The bullhead's engines engaged again as it took off into the sky, they tracked the VTOL as it flew away but could only watch in horror as a Griffon flew out of the clouds and ripped the VTOL's wing off, sending it spiraling into the ground where it exploded on impact. "Yep, that's what happened when we tried to call in an evac." A man clad in tan BDUs said as he pointed at a burning wreck of another VTOL.

Twenty-five other men emerged from within the tents and came to greet the Wolves "So you're the 'pre-authorized personnel' that Ironwood was talking about?" Carmine asked the man, he nodded "Yes sir, we're all that is left of F.O.B. Triton. We were overrun by White Fang and Grimm, they had Goliaths ram through the gates and Nevermores to take out our air support. It was a fucking slaughter, we grabbed five Humvees and hauled ass out of there." The man said, pointing to a few smoking Humvees.

Onyx lowered his head as he thought momentarily "Was it just the White Fang?" Onyx asked as he looked back up at the shaken soldiers, they looked amongst themselves for a moment "There were these people dressed in all black, they looked like they were wearing cloaks or hoods that hid their faces. The only thing we could see was red eyes coming from the hood, like it was the devil himself under the hood." The man said, Onyx looked at Carmine and Nightshade "You think it is who I think it is?" Onyx asked the two men, Carmine nodded "There is no fucking doubt." Carmine growled as he clenched his fist, Nightshade rested his hand on the rifleman's shoulder "Yeah, it's the fucking Grimm Reapers." Nightshade shuddered.

Crimson scanned the horizon as his team conversed with the Atlas remnants, his gaze stopped on a black figure that stood on top of a sand dune. Black smoke billowed out from underneath the figure before it consumed it and in an instant, the smoke was gone and so was the figure. "Guys! We're being watched." Crimson warned as he continued to scan the horizon, this time with his rifle raised and pointed toward the dunes.

"The 184th should be here in the hour so get comfy I guess." Onyx said as he turned to his team, Keppel tapped Carmine on the shoulder "Let's do some semblance training until they get here." Keppel said as he led the rifleman toward a burnt out Humvee, Carmine placed his SCAR on his back as they approached the smoking husk.

"Right, so start by clenching your fist." Keppel said, Carmine followed the sniper's order and balled his hand into a fist; instinctively he moved his right foot behind him and readied his stance "Good, now feel the power swelling inside of you. Feel it course throughout your body; now, direct it into your right fist." Keppel said, Carmine tilted his head as he focused the swelling power into one part of his body. "Now, step forward and strike the Humvee. When you connect, feel the power leave your fist and enter the husk." Keppel directed the man, Carmine took three steps forward and threw a right jab into the burnt metal door.

His fist connected with the door and caused an explosion from his fist, the blast dented the door and broke the hinges. The door dropped from the Humvee and collapsed into the sand below, Carmine unclenched his fist and shook his hand lightly "Yeah, it's going to take some getting used to." Keppel said as he walked up to Carmine who hunched over with his hands on his knees, Keppel placed his hand on his back "Hey, you ok man?" Keppel asked worried, the rifleman dropped to his knees and ripped his mask from his face, he tossed it into the sand next to him as he gripped his throat "Ahhh, it burns!" Carmine exclaimed as he opened his mouth and released a large plume of steam from his throat, Keppel felt the sand under Carmine "Good gods! That is insanely hot." The sniper said as he rubbed his hand, Carmine looked up at him "How hot?" He asked as he winced in pain. Keppel thought for a moment "Hmm… If I had to guess, I would say maybe 100 – 160° Fahrenheit." Keppel said as he helped Carmine off the ground.

"Over time, the pain will go away as your body gets used to it." Keppel said as he brushed the sand off of the rifleman. The two men walked through the sand and rejoined their team who were standing in a semi-circle, Onyx looked out at the horizon on the sea and noticed multiple objects on the horizon "Heads up, I think our allies are here." Onyx said as he walked toward the beach, Carmine moved in front of Keppel and let the man rest the barrel of 'Charon' on his shoulder "Confirm, I see approximately sixteen transports, six chinooks which are carrying unidentifiable equipment, and three Ospreys which are being escorted by two Hueys." Keppel said as the flotilla got closer.

The Osprey's flew over low and circled around before landing near the burnt out Humvees, the six Chinooks flew past the Wolf Pack and lowered their cargo onto the sand which consisted of three M109a6 Paladin's and three M270 MLRS's. One by one, the sixteen LCAC drove up onto the beach and dropped the front ramp, five M1A2 Abrams, five T-90's, two T-14's, one Type 99a2, and one Challenger 2 ATDU. The heavy tanks roared to life and drove out onto the sand, the large tracks crushed the sand beneath them as they got into formation, there were two tanks left on two of the LCAC's: two K2 Black Panthers. The large tanks roared to life as they slowly crawled off of the vehicle carrier, the tanks stopped in front of the Wolf Pack as the hatch on top opened up and a man with dirty blonde hair climbed out of the tank, he leaped off the tank and landed in front of Onyx "Hello boys! Are you ready to take this fight to those fucking terrorists?" The man asked the small mercenary group who looked at each other confused, Onyx nodded "Yes sir, we're ready when you are." Onyx said with moderate enthusiasm, the man extended his hand to the group "The name is Titus Quinn, panzer division commander of the Mistral 184th Militia." Titus said shaking their hands.

"These two tanks are for you boys: the K2 Black Panther, they only fit three each so you'll have to split up." Titus said as the other K2 drove up next to the first one, Onyx looked at his team and mentally divided them: Onyx, Nightshade, and Grullo in one while Carmine, Keppel, and Crimson took the other. "Alright, Nightshade and Grullo are with me, Carmine, you take Keppel and Crimson in the other one." Onyx directed the team, they nodded and made their way to their tanks. Crimson climbed up on the tank and opened the front hatch to climb into the driver's seat while Carmine got into the commander seat and Keppel eased himself into the gunner seat, he pulled the bolt back on the M2 .50 Cal HMG. Carmine took off his backpack and lowered it into the tank along with 'Charon'. Carmine looked over to his left and saw both Onyx and Grullo looking at him "Ready when you are, brother." Onyx yelled over the roar of the engines, Carmine slapped the roof of the tank which caused it to crawl forward slowly.

Titus moved his arms back and forth as he guided the two tanks into position, the K2's lined up next to the other fourteen Main Battle Tanks, the Paladins and MLRS's were in front of them along with two hundred Atlesian Knight-200's that were lined up. Titus climbed onto the Challenger and got everyone's attention "Alright boys! We're retaking that base, we'll be in these tanks while the robots will take the brunt of the assault. We need to take out all hostiles, Grimm, and free any prisoners. Remember this, we were never here. The artillery will set up and start a barrage as we continue our assault on the base." Titus said as he lowered himself into the commander seat of the Challenger 2. Titus pressed the mic on his throat and ordered all units to move out, the echelon of heavy armor slowly began to move through the desert sand and left multiple large track marks in the hot Sanus sand, Carmine adjusted his gas mask as he felt the hot desert air hit his exposed skin on his neck "Thank the gods I wore a thin hoodie." Carmine said as he lowered himself down inside the tank, Crimson adjusted the levers to his right as he pushed the pedal on the floor with his foot. Carmine pulled back a lever and opened a chamber in the main gun, he pulled a 120mm HE shell out of the rack and punched it into the receiver before closing the breech. "Up!" Carmine yelled as he moved into the seat to his right and looked down the sight.

The reticle maintained a steady focus in its resting position despite the K2 bouncing up and down as it hit multiple sand dunes, he used the joystick to his right to move the barrel from its resting position. The Paladins pushed forward ahead of the tank battalion along with the MLRSs, the three Paladins broke off and made their way to an area behind a large sand dune while the MLRSs broke off to the right and set up adjacent to the Paladins, also behind a large sand dune. The mic in the cracked as Titus came through "All stop, I repeat, all stop!" Titus said as he ordered the tanks to stop, Crimson took his foot off of the pedal on the right and pushed the one on the left. The K2 slowly came to a stop alongside the rest of the battalion, Carmine poked his head up out of the tank and looked around the area, his eyes focused as he saw a large complex off in the distance by the shoreline. It had large outlets that let out into the ocean, all were empty except for one at the end, it had a large black tubular object that was mostly submerged underwater except for the top of it and a large column that resembled a plateau but metal. "What's up, Titus?" Carmine asked through the mic on his neck, the earpiece clicked as Titus's voice came through the comms "We're gonna let the artillery bombard them first before we move in." Titus explained as the barrels of the Paladin's raised into the sky and the batteries raised up off the truck beds of the MLRSs.

A man in tan BDUs climbed out of a T-90 about four tanks down and placed a small box on the desert ground, he flipped it open and pulled out a small glider with a single propeller on the back of it. He drew his right arm back and spiked the small plane into the air, the propeller started up and shot the glider through the air toward the base in the distance, Titus pulled out his scroll and opened it up wide "Alright, show me what you see." Titus said as the base popped onto his screen, he moved two bubbles on the screen which caused the glider to move through the air as it flew closer to the base.

The glider banked right as it circled around for a better view of the area "Alright, be advised; this place is crawling with White Fang and Grimm, looks like they rounded up the stragglers and executed them against the eastern wall. There are multiple MG emplacements, I count eight sniper towers, six APCs, four Goliaths, three large trucks with large tubes on the back, there seems to be something in the harbor that looks alarming. Ironwood told us that when we break through the line and secure the base, we are to extract a large item from inside the base." Titus said as he closed his scroll, the glider continued to fly in circles over the base.

Titus pressed his throat comms and addressed the artillery units "All units, zero in on glider coordinates and prepare to fire." Titus said as he turned toward the other tanks "Danny, move the Atlesian Knights into position." Titus ordered as he addressed the tank commander two tanks down, the man nodded and opened his scroll. After pressing a few buttons and moving some sliders, the massive robotic army moved in between the tanks and formed two formations that consisted of ten rows of ten Atlesian Knights "So most of your combatants aren't even alive?" Carmine asked Titus as he leaned on his right elbow, Titus chuckled lightly "Yeah, we buy them from Atlas and use them instead of getting our Mercenaries killed." Titus explained as two artillery captains gave them a thumbs up, Titus shot one back.

With their barrels raised into the air, the crew loaded a 155mm HE shell into each of the Paladins and slammed the breech shut before attaching the pull chord "Fire." Titus said calmly into his throat mic, one by one thunderous explosions erupted from the barrels of the Paladins as 155mm of pain was hurled toward the enemy and as quickly as a shell was discharged, another was already in the chamber. On the other side of the dunes, MGM-140 ATACMS leaped from the batteries and screamed through the air as they flew from the MLRSs one by one, Carmine watched as balls of fire peppered the horizon as the artillery hit its mark.

With only a press of a button, all two hundred Atlesian Knights charged into battle as the tank engines roared to life once again. The metal boots crashed through the sand as they charged headfirst into oncoming fire, plasma rounds spewed from their Atlas Rifles as they continued to charge across the hot desert sand. One after another, the tanks slowly made their own charge toward the hostile base; bullets ricocheted off the heavy duty tank armor as they neared the base, tank tracks drove over and crushed destroyed Knights that laid sprawled out on the ground. Two Goliaths stampeded out of the base and toward the oncoming onslaught, tank barrels raised up and fired at the incoming beasts, the loud explosion of the 120mm HE shell screaming from the tanks and impacting the giant Grimm in the face, the fire engulfed one and only made the other flinch.

"All fire!" Titus commanded through all the tank's internal comms unit, boom after boom filled the usually silent desert with ear-deafening explosions that destroyed everything in its path. One by one, the tanks flooded the concrete base and took up choke points to secure the area, coaxial HMG fire erupted from the turrets on top of the tanks and from the HMG next to the main gun. Hot shells dropped and clanged off the metal of the K2 that was engaging another Goliath, the .50 caliber bullets ripped through both Grimm and White Fang alike, splattering both black and red blood on the sun-bleached concrete that was worn away due to heavy traffic, sand-filled wind, and the blistering sun beating down on it.

A BMP-2 and a BMP-3 round the corner of the base while firing at the tanks, a T-90 and an Abrams turned their main gun toward the oncoming threat and fired, a HEAT round flew from the barrel of the Abrams and hit the BMP-3 hard, destroying the left track and leaving it stuck in place while the BMP-2 sped toward the Panzer Division. Carmine raised the barrel up seven degrees and squeezed the trigger, the 120mm HE round leaped from the barrel and flew through the air before impacting the front of the BMP-2, the explosion enveloped the APC as the other K2 followed suit and fired another 120mm HE round which reduced the APC to a heap of twisted, burning metal. Crimson pushed the accelerator down as a Nevermore landed on one of the T-90s and dug its razor sharp claws into the hull, three Abrams focused their fire on the extremely large bird and fired shell after shell at the behemoth. Carmine adjusted the elevation of the barrel and pulled out a shell labeled 'C.C.R' from the ammo compartment, he unlatched the breech and ejected the spent shell before he punched in the C.C.R.

He slammed the breech closed and looked down the sight as the sound of shell casing clanged off the metal hull, Carmine adjusted a dial to his right that raised the barrel slowly "Contact!" Carmine yelled as he squeezed the trigger and shot the C.C.R out of the barrel, the shell screamed through the air before turning upright and rocketing into the air where it seemed to explode in midair. "Well, that was a letdown." Carmine said as he unlatched the breech again and ejected the metal shell, he looked back through the sight just in time to see multiple medium sized balls exploding as they hit the Nevermore around its head. As the smoke cleared, the Nevermore collapsed backwards onto the concrete and started to dissipate into black ash and smoke, Carmine looked dumbfounded as he watched the large Grimm start to smoke "Titus, what does C.C.R. stand for?" Carmine asked through his throat comm, the radio crackled lightly as Titus's voice came through the speaker "Cluster Charge Round, it's basically a cluster bomb in a tank shell." Titus said as the sound of machine gun fire echoed behind him.

After what felt like hours of fighting, much of the Grimm had been dispatched except for a few stragglers around the base but the tanks drove through and snuffed them out like a lit match, Crimson shut the engine off before he pushed his hatch open and climbed out of the Main Battle Tank, Carmine climbed out of the top and grabbed his gear from inside the tank, he pulled out 'Charon' from inside the hull and handed it Keppel who had already leapt from the tank. Crimson gripped his Sig 550 close and kept the barrel pointed toward the ground as he waited for the others, Onyx stood next to him with his AK-103 and Grullo with his MG3; Titus drove up in his Challenger 2 "Good work boys, now it's your turn to operate; go clear out that base and look for a large container labeled 'Pseudo Emotionality Neuro-Network Intelligence', once you find that, radio us and we'll have it extracted." Titus said as the Challenger's barrel raised up, Onyx nodded as he pulled back the bolt on his AK, Titus banged his fist on the top of the tank which caused it to fire at a concrete wall.

The round exploded and ripped a large hole into the side of the base, concrete and steel rebar crashed to the ground as light fixtures flickered as they struggled to stay active, one by one the Wolves jogged into the breached opening and hooked a left down a long corridor. Crimson and Onyx clicked their tactical lights attached to the side of their rifles on and illuminated the dark hallway, Keppel stopped and sniffed the air "Guys, I smell Iron." Keppel said as he looked down the hall, his wolf ears twitched slightly as he stared into the darkness.

Crimson raised his rifle and aimed into the wall of black, the light cut into the darkness and illuminated the concrete wall, a bloody handprint was smeared on the wall as it trailed around the corner. Carmine pulled back the bolt on the side of his rifle and chambered a round into his rifle before he raised it up and walked down the hall, he leaned against the wall and peeked around the corner. The hall was dimly lit but illuminated the outline of a person sitting against the wall, from what he could tell it was a female with long hair and what looked like an apple in her hand. Crimson rounded the corner and pointed his rifle at the woman on the ground "Ma'am, are you okay? We need to get you out of here." Crimson said as he slowly moved closer, he crouched down and shook her shoulder "Hey, are you listening?" He asked as he shook the woman which caused her head to slouch down as her body slid over slightly, Crimson was stunned but stood up slowly.

He picked his rifle up and pointed it at the woman to see what she was holding but came to the horrifying conclusion that she was holding her own heart in her left hand, Crimson backed up slowly while shaking his head "What the actual fuck?!" Crimson asked confused, a female laugh could be heard echoing from the room across from the dead woman in the hall.

Carmine pushed off the wall and sprinted into the room with his rifle raised "Alright mother fucker! You come out or we burn this whole place down!" Carmine said in a fit of rage, that he didn't notice his squadmates staring at something on the wall, Carmine turned to his right and saw three people skewered to the wall with pieces of broken pipe and rebar protruding from their chests, one had her mouth sewn shut while another guy had his eyes scooped from his head and the last man's ears were gone. Nightshade shook his head as Onyx pointed his light at the sickening display "What kind of monster would do this?" He asked as he had to keep himself from vomiting, the same female laugh came from within the darkness again.

"Do you like my art? It was so hard to do it, they kept fighting; especially her, she just would stop screaming, I mean she was worse than the girl whose heart I cut out and showed to her." The unidentified female said as she lurked in the darkness, Carmine clenched his fist "Come out you son of a bitch!" Carmine yelled in anger, Onyx and Crimson raised their rifles and illuminated the room until they came upon a slender woman with silver hair standing in the corner, black smoke pooled around her feet and slowly began to expand outward along the floor.

"Who are you? Why would the White Fang do this?" Carmine asked confused, the silver-haired woman giggled at his question "You're so naïve, you really think the White Fang did this? The White Fang is nothing but our puppets, we say jump and they ask how high." The woman said as an evil smile grew on her face, Nightshade stepped forward and raised his FAL "That doesn't answer our question: Who the hell are you?!" Nightshade yelled as he pointed his rifle at the woman, she looked taken aback "What? You mean Carmine didn't tell you about me, Nightshade? I'm surprised." The woman said as she folded her arms in a condescending way, she cleared her throat and fixed her posture "My name is Opal but most call me Loki." Opal said as she curtsied to the mercenary group.

Grullo pushed everyone out of his way "Alright move guys, I'm wasting this bitch!" Grullo said as he lifted his LMG up and fired at Opal, the bullets ripped through the air and dug into the concrete wall, Opal moved to her right quickly but Grullo chased her as the bullets cut into the wall.

Grullo stopped firing and lowered his LMG, white smoke permeated from the barrel as he hovered above the floor. "My my, so much anger inside of you, Grullo. Is it cause your dad used to beat you and your mom committed suicide when you were only eight?" Opal asked, now sitting on a table in the corner. Grullo yelled in anger as he withdrew Minebea PM-9 and emptied the mag into the area where she was sitting, the bullets sprayed from the machine pistol as he held the trigger down until it clicked, signaling that it had no ammo left. He reached for another stick mag but Nightshade grabbed his arm "Don't do it, she's not worth it man!" Nightshade said as he calmed the gunner down, Grullo clenched his fist but relaxed as he sighed in a mixture of repressed anger and defeat.

"Aww, Nightshade, are you trying to prevent another person from doing something in anger? You know how well that worked last time, I mean, if it did work then Desmond would still be alive, right Nightshade?" Opal said as her voiced echoed throughout the room, Nightshade sighed "Yeah, you're right. Had my negotiations worked then my little brother would still be alive but I failed and I carry that failure with me every day." Nightshade said as he cracked his knuckles, the black smoke continued to pool around their feet and slowly crept up their legs.

"So if you're done wasting our time, we have to be going." Carmine said as he lifted his rifle back up and started to make his way back into the hall, Opal clicked her tongue and sighed "Boy, you are so eager to get back to Sapphire, aren't you?" Opal asked which caused Carmine to stop in his tracks, he reached up and pulled his Ka-Bar from his sheath on his shoulder "You leave her out of this, bitch." Carmine said as he started walking toward Opal who seemed to disappear into a cloud of smoke before reappearing in the corner, all the smoke quickly left their bodies and made seven columns which slowly began to take form.

Opal started to laugh as the columns turned into seven cloaked figures with red eyes, Carmine lifted his blade up and thrust it into the chest of one of the figures but he passed right through it. The Wolf Pack's earpieces all started to go off with the sound of gunfire and screaming mixed with distant yelling and someone barking orders "Boys! Please tell me you found it, there is god knows how many Grimm and Reaper insurgents here now. Hurry!" Titus yelled as his audio was cut, Carmine stared at Opal "So, stalling us huh? Let me guess, these aren't even real people." Carmine said as he attempted to push one but it clocked him in face first.

"Oh no, they're real. They're our shadow unit." Opal said with a smirk, Onyx cleared his throat "Whose unit?" He asked calmly, Opal turned to him with an evil grin "Why, who else? The Grimm Reapers." Opal said as she slowly started to disappear into the darkness as did the shadow unit, the room was once again silent as the lights flickered back to life and illuminated the room that was smeared with blood, bloody surgical tools littered the table along with a bloody needle and thread. Onyx shook his head as he took in the horror "Lets… let's find that box and get the hell out of here." Onyx said as he made his way back to the hall, the others followed one by one into the hall.

Grullo walked slowly behind Keppel as they moved down the hall, Keppel got next to him and wrapped his arm around the gunner "Don't worry, we'll get that bitch." Keppel said as he reassured the large man, a sadistic giggle came from behind them "Are you sure about that?" Opal asked as she held the severed head of a woman who had a scream plastered on her face, the Wolves raised their weapons and opened fire into Opal, the bullets ripped through her but only caused her to dissipate along with the severed head.

As they continued down the hall, their earpieces clicked again "Hey boys, we pushed off the Grimm but we inspected those trucks and you won't believe this: they're filled to the brim with different types of dust. If one of these detonated over Vale, it would annihilate the city, I mean there's fire, gravity, electricity, and wind crystals in it. If all these were to go off, it would be devastating." Titus explained to them as they round a corner and came up to a large door that had claw marks on it.

"Hey Titus, I think we found your crate but we'll let you know when we get in." Onyx said as Nightshade walked over to the digital pad on the wall and connected his scroll to the wall, a black flower flashed across the screen of his scroll and onto the keypad. After typing for a few seconds, the large metal doors slowly slid open as the pistons pumped away, the large room slowly lit up as the lights kicked on. The room contained multiple crates but a large white one sat in the middle that read 'Pseudo Emotionality Neuro-Network Intelligence' on the side along with the symbol for the Atlas military "Yep, there it is and it just screams Ironwood." Carmine said as he looked at the other crates, Nightshade typed away at one of the computers and managed to open one of the main docking bay doors that revealed the outside world.

Two men guided a flatbed truck back to the bay as another two used forklifts to move the crate, they loaded the crate onto the flatbed and secured it to the ground as the Wolves walked out into the world where Titus stood and watched the crew at work "Ahh boys, good work!" Titus said as he turned to face them but stopped when he saw them "Holy shit boys, it looks like you all saw a ghost." Titus said, Onyx shook his head "You need to send in a team to clean up the bodies that the Grimm Reapers mutilated." Onyx said as he slowly walked, Titus's normal happy look quickly left his face.

Titus signaled two men over to where they were standing "Sir?" One of the men asked, his name tag read 'Nava'. Titus cleared his throat as he addressed the two men "Nava, contact a Bio team to clean up this place. They'll give you the rundown on the situation." Titus said before walking away while covering his mouth, Crimson explained the scenario to Nava while Grullo reloaded his LMG and Nightshade contemplated life while he leaned against the wall.

Carmine looked down as he thought about all the things that had happened, Opal's evil laugh echoed through his mind as he looked off into the distance 'they kept fighting; especially her, she just would stop screaming, I mean she was worse then the girl whose heart I cut out and showed to her' Opal's words echoed in his head, he snapped out of it when Onyx rallied up the team "Alright boys, let's mount back up and continue securing the area." Onyx said as he made his way back to the K2s while the others followed behind him.

Crimson climbed up onto the front and slid into the driver's seat while Carmine and Keppel got into the main turret with Keppel manning the gunner seat. The main battle tank roared to life as Crimson pressed the ignition button on the console, the tank rumbled as it idled in place. Carmine lowered himself back into the tank and popped the breech back open, the spent metal shell ejected from the receiver as Carmine punched a new 120mm HE round into the receiver and slammed the breech shut as the tank started to pull away.

Onyx's K2 moved down a side road toward the harbor as Carmine's K2 followed behind them, the tracks of crushed the sand on the road along with more fallen Atlesian Knights that lay destroyed in the hot sand. Metal joints squeaked as the tanks continued their expedition toward the harbor, the sound of gunfire soon filled the air around the harbor as they got closer to their destination. The first K2 broke through the chainlink fence followed by the second one behind it, bullets immediately began to ricochet off of the tank's armor like they were pebbles on a brick wall, a man in a white cloak with a grey facemask stood up on top of a building and held a RPG-7 on his shoulder. "RPG!" Carmine called out loud which caused Crimson to flip a switch, a green light turned on as a plate and screen turned toward the direction of the RPG.

Within an instant, the rocket was screaming toward them but suddenly exploded in midair; Nightshade used the smoke from the detonated rocket to fire back and kill the White Fang grenadier, the .50 caliber bullets ripped through his body and sprayed a pink mist into the air. "Target neutralized." Nightshade said through the throat comms before the two tanks continued into the harbor where other tanks and APCs were firing at entrenched White Fang insurgents. Three Beowolves ran out of a shed and attacked three of the Atlesian Knights that were moving toward one of the buildings, the claws ripped through their metal bodies and split them in half.

Nightshade and Keppel focused their fire at the Beowolves, the large bullets shredded the beasts of darkness and quickly dispatched them as more ran out to reinforce them but they were quickly cut down, the Beowolves hit the ground and started to smoke as they slid across the ground. "Push up!" One of the tank commanders yelled as his tank began to advance toward the main building, A King Taijitu slithered out of the darkness and wrapped around one the tanks, the metal scraped and bent as the Grimm squeezed and crushed it, the occupants were able to escape before it was destroyed.

Titus's Challenger 2 sped past the Wolf Pack and rammed into the large Grimm, the barrel pointed upward and fired, the shell ripped the Taijitu's head off and into the water of the harbor, the body began to smoke as the water turned black where the head landed. "Let's go, boys! Woohoo!" Titus yelled as his tank took off at full speed and busted through the concrete wall of a building. Chunks of concrete and rebar crashed as the Challenger 2 pushed deeper into the large building, the sound of gunfire and bullets ricocheting off of the metal hull. The deep sound of metal bending echoed through the harbor as the sound of gunfire stopped, the Challenger backed out of the hole in the wall at full speed as an Atlas Assault Mech chased it "SCATTER!" Danny yelled as all the tanks made a hasty retreat, the mech bitch slapped one of the tanks across the desert and into a sand dune as it stormed across the harbor.

Crimson pulled back on the lever to his right and slammed the left pedal to the floor, the tracks quickly pulled the tank backward as Carmine aimed the main cannon and Keppel peppered the hull of the mech with .50 caliber rounds. Carmine moved the barrel upward and squeezed the trigger, the 120mm round leaped from the barrel and impacted the side of the mech but bounced off and struck dust silo by the harbor, the silo exploded with a large shockwave shaking the area as a fireball climbed into the sky. Carmine ejected the spent shell and punched in a new one, he slammed the breech shut and looked back down the sight "Crimson, I need you to get behind it for a clear shot." Carmine said as he adjusted the sights.

"Alright, but can I play the song as I do it?" Crimson asked as he shifted a few levers, Carmine looked at him confused "Wha… What son… NO! Not that song, not now." Carmine said in protest as an alarm started to beep "We got missile lock!" Keppel yelled as HMG shells rained down onto the armor "Please, it'll help me do this." Crimson said as he pushed the right pedal down, Keppel sighed "Gid damn it, let him play it! I am dangerously low on ammo here." Keppel yelled as he loaded a new box of .50 caliber ammo onto the HMG.

"Fine, just get me behind that big ass mother fucker!" Carmine yelled as he pulled the trigger, another shell flew from the barrel but exploded mid-air, Carmine reloaded the main gun as Crimson plugged his scroll into the tank's speakers and pressed play "This is gonna be good." Crimson said as he gripped the lever and pushed it forward. A fast-paced electric tempo played through the speakers accompanied by guitar.

 **See your body into the moonlight, Even if I try to cancel All the pictures into the mind There's a flashing in my eyes. Don't you see my commission, the nation Has gone running again. Can't you see now, illusions Right into your mind.**

Crimson slammed the pedal down and sped toward the large mech, as he passed it he pulled back on the left lever which caused the left track to stop moving.

 **Déjà vu! I've just been in this place before, Higher on the street and I know it's my time to go. calling you, and the search is a mystery Standing on my feet It's so hard when I try to be me, woah. Déjà vu, I've just been in this time before Higher on the beat And I know it's a place to go, Calling you and the search is a mystery Standing on my feet It's so hard when I try to be me, yeah!**

Crimson sang out loud to himself as the K2 drifted around the mech and presented an opening for Carmine, he lined up the crosshairs on the vents and squeezed the trigger. Another shell exploded from the barrel and flew through the air before hitting the vent and detonating, the explosion ripped through the engine and rendered the mech lifeless.

 **See the future into the present, see my past leaves in the distance. Try to guess now what's going on And the band begins to play. Don't you see my commission, the nation has gone running again, can't you see now, illusions, right into your mind.**

Crimson proceeded to leave one track locked as he drove the tank in circles, doing doughnuts in the hot sand as he celebrated their small victory.

 **Déjà vu! I've just been in this place before, Higher on the street and I know it's my time to go. calling you, and the search is a mystery Standing on my feet It's so hard when I try to be me, woah. Déjà vu, I've just been in this time before Higher on the beat And I know it's a place to go, Calling you and the search is a mystery Standing on my feet It's so hard when I try to be me, yeah!**

The radio feed crackled as Onyx's voice came through the speaker "Alright Crimson, back to business." Onyx said as he shouted through the tank comms, Crimson quickly shut the music off and placed both hands on the steering wheel, the mech shifted slowly as it struggled to push itself back up but Onyx's K2 sped toward it and broadsided the fallen mech, delivering the final blow. Carmine pushed the top hatch open and poked his head out, Onyx was sitting on the roof of his tank while he tried to light a cigarette "You know you shouldn't smoke, right?" Carmine said as he leaned against Keppel who was adjusting the M2 he was manning.

"You're right but counterpoint and hear me out: Fuck you." Onyx said with a chuckle as he lit the cigarette and took a deep drag, he exhaled a cloud of smoke as he looked off toward the harbor. Carmine lowered his head and used the downtime to rest but it was short-lived, Keppel nudged Carmine back up "Hey Carmine, is someone standing on top of that sub?" Keppel asked as he squinted and stared at the blob in the distance.

Carmine lowered himself back into the tank and looked down the optic sight, he flicked it from 2x to 6x, the shape of a woman came into view as Carmine's eye focused "It's Opal, that sadistic bitch." Carmine said as he nudged Crimson who threw the tank back into gear and drove the tank back toward the harbor, Carmine grabbed his Scar and climbed out of the tank where he crouched of the roof as it got closer. Opal lifted open a hatch and climbed down into the sub "Guys! They were after the submarine!" Carmine yelled into the comms, the feed crackled as Titus came back through "Well butter my ass and call me a biscuit! Grizz, you were right!" Titus yelled as the other tanks began their charge back toward the harbor.

The rear propeller slowly began to spin up, kicking up water onto the hot concrete as the tank tracks sped across through the port. As they got closer, three Osprey flew overhead and landed in the desert flats while another flew away while carrying the crate marked 'P.E.N.N.I.'. The tanks lined up at the edge of the harbor and aimed their barrels at the sub that pulling away from the harbor. "Take aim!" Danny yelled as the barrels lined up, Carmine noticed that a large hatch opened on top of the sub.

"Fire!" Danny yelled as a large missile launched from within the sub and the tanks fired, the barrage of tank rounds ripped through the hull of the sub and caused it to explode underwater. The missile screamed into the sky before it arced back toward the harbor "FUCK! RETREAT! EVERYONE IN, HATCHES CLOSED!" Titus yelled as all tank operators and gunners lowered down into the tanks, the hatches closed behind them as they tore through the desert sand.

The missile flew back toward the center of the desert where the Ospreys hand landed, they attempted to take back off but couldn't spin up before the missile struck the ground. A huge flash of light flooded across the desert as the missile exploded, the detonation swallowed everything in its path and blew vehicles across the desert like they were cows in a tornado, tanks were thrown in multiple different directions. Carmine's K2 flew through the air and skipped across the desert ground, the barrel was ripped off and jammed into a sand dune as the K2 continued to roll. Carmine, Crimson, and Keppel were tossed around like ragdolls, Carmine was slammed into the roof and knocked out cold as the K2 landed upside down.

The blast was devastating, tanks were thrown in multiple directions and some even being ripped to shreds by the blast itself, Onyx's K2 was wedged between two boulders. Danny wasn't so lucky, his tank was reduced to a heap of twisted, burning metal with the corpses of the occupants burning inside the destroyed husk. Titus's tank was flipped over and pinned by part of one of the VTOLs.

Carmine slowly came to and was jolted alert by two things: a sharp pain in his side and the sound of metal being ripped open, Carmine looked over at his squadmates and saw they were out cold. Carmine attempted to move but was stopped in his tracks when he heard a familiar giggle "No, you can't still be alive." Carmine said through pained grunts as he tried to climb out of the tank via the bottom hatch, he slid down the bottom of the tank and hit the sand where he collapsed but pushed himself back up. "Onyx!" Carmine yelled as he limped across the scorched sand, Onyx and Nightshade pulled themselves out of their tanks and fell to the ground.

Carmine turned around and raised his rifle, firing at the black columns that were forming in front of him. "Carmine!" Onyx yelled through pained grunts as he struggled to push himself up, Onyx couldn't help but watch Carmine be swallowed by clouds of black smoke. "No!" Onyx yelled as the black smoke dissipated, leaving nothing but a pair of boot prints and blood on the sand.

 **(A/N: Cliffhanger? This chapter was really fun to write. I took some notes from my criminal justice classes when writing Opal's dialogue, I got it from Richard Ramirez "I love to kill people. I love watching them die. I would shoot them in the head and they would wiggle and squirm all over the place, and then just stop. Or I would cut them with a knife and watch their faces turn real white. I love all that blood. I told one lady to give me all her money. She said no. So I cut her and pulled her eyes out." I have been busy lately trying to juggle Nine things at once: Write, college, complete my degree, and other stuff so I might be AWOL for a bit, I'm not leaving but just taking a mini hiatus. So remember to Favorite, Follow, and Review, and as always, this is Nightmare 6-4, signing off.)**


	5. Chapter 5: Lone Wolf

Chapter 5: Lone Wolf

 **I do not own RWBY, RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum (R.I.P.) nor do I own any media that may appear in the story. I only own the OCs, Enjoy! Remember to Favorite, Follow, and leave a Review.**

The desert sand blew in the wind as a couple tanks drove over the ridge, Onyx sat on his knees as he stared into the distance at the wreckage of the other K2. Crimson and Keppel pulled themselves from the wreckage and collapsed to the ground, militants of the 184th ran over to help them up "Thanks man, the fuck was that?" Crimson asked as he draped his arm around the militant's neck "That my friend, was a dust cruise missile like the ones on the trucks back there." Titus said as he limped over to the two mercenaries, he looked over and saw Danny's tank burning near the blast zone "Poor mother fucker, didn't even stand a chance." Titus said as he lowered his head, Titus lifted his head back up and clapped his hands together "Alright, let's get you boys fixed up." Titus said as he led the men over to the others who sat against a T-90, five men carried Grullo over and laid him down beside the tank tracks "He's still unconscious, Bubba, go get some Coban, Morphine, Narcan, Kerlix gauze, Acetaminophen, Phenergan, and some cloth scissors, you know what just bring the whole truck." Titus told one of the medics that was adjusting Grullo's leg.

 ***Meanwhile***

Carmine groaned as he slowly regained consciousness, he looked up and was met with a wall of darkness with only a single light above him, a metal table was all that separated him and a hooded figure that sat opposite of him. Carmine attempted to move but found his hands were restrained to a metal chair "I wouldn't do that if I were you." A female voice said through an intercom speaker on the wall, Carmine felt another sharp pain in his side.

He sighed and stopped fighting back against the restraints "Good, now we can start." The voice said as the shadows began to take humanoid forms and started to remove his gear from his body. First his IBA then his hoodie followed by his facemask, one of the figures opened a pocket of his IBA and pulled out a pair of black panties 'So that's what Sapphire gave me, I guess I should have checked it sooner.' Carmine thought to himself as the man held it in his hand and raised it to his nose, he took a deep breath and exhaled slowly "I might pay her a visit after were done with you." The man said as he tucked the lingerie into his pocket, Carmine gritted his teeth in anger "I swear, when I'm out of these restraints, I'm ramming your head into that wall until the wall breaks." Carmine said as he stared at the man, his red eyes seemed to darken as he grew angrier.

"Down boy." The intercom said as an electric shock began to course through Carmine's body, he grunted in pain as the electric current flowed through him. The current stopped as did his twitching, the intercom cut back on "Now, where is your base of operations located at?" The voice asked, Carmine snickered "Do you really think I'm gonna give up any information to you?" Carmine inclined as he sat in the interrogation room, one of the figures grabbed his arm and placed it on the table. The man pulled out a razor blade and cut into Carmine's arm, the blade sliced into the flesh of his arm as it drew blood from the wound, Carmine laughed as the wound disappeared "You know my aura will heal any wound I get right?" He asked as he looked at the figure that sat across from him.

The figure sat forward and let the light shine upon his hair, the white mask gleamed in the light that seemed to blend with his blood red hair "How long do you think your aura will last?" The man asked as he placed his hands on the table and poked a finger into the small pool of blood on the table. Carmine stared at the man "Death before dishonor." Carmine said as he sat shirtless in the dark room.

 ***Back in Vacuo***

Titus attached a leg splint to Keppel's leg and wrapped it in a compression wrap "Alright, this should stabilize your leg while your aura regenerates." Titus said as he changed his attention to Grullo, Bubba felt the man's body as he checked for wounds, Titus moved over to the large man and stared at the man. "Bubba, work your magic." Titus said as he moved away from the gunner, Bubba placed his hands on Grullo's chest as they began to glow pink. Grullo's body began to glow pink and brown as their auras were both activated. Grullo sat up and took a deep breath in as he looked around "There he is! Just needed a little help." Bubba said as he stood up and tended to the others. Grullo leaned back against the tank tracks and looked out at the wreckage that was strewn all over the desert. "What happened? All I remember was a huge explosion and a big flash of light." Grullo said as he looked a scorched ground where the missile hit.

Titus sighed "You remember when I told you about those payloads we found? Well, that sub had them onboard and fired one as it took off into the sea. The detonation was devastating and shredded some of our tanks." Titus said as he pointed at tank hulls jutting out of the sand dunes, Grullo gritted his teeth in anger "How did they do this? With the Grimm I mean." Grullo asked as he stared out at the horizon, Bubba looked at the gunner as he patched up Keppel's leg "We suspect they're working with the White Fang and whoever they work with, seeing as how the Grimm haven't shredded them to pieces." Bubba explained as he finished wrapping the compression wrap. Onyx cleared his throat to get their attention "I need everyone to stay calm, I have something to tell you." Onyx said as a man helped him to his feet, Titus wrapped his arm under his shoulder to keep him steady.

The Wolves sat up slightly as Onyx stood in front of them, he looked down at the sand and developed his thoughts into words "They took Carmine, all I saw was a cloud of black smoke swallow him up and dissipate into nothingness." Onyx said as he fought back tears, Crimson dropped his head in disbelief while Nightshade chuckled lightly "Did you say a black smoke swallowed him up?" A man who sat on the T-90 asked, Onyx nodded slightly. The clicked his tongue as he thought for a moment "That means that Phantom got him." The man said as he looked down at Onyx, Titus sat Onyx back down on the ground "Gentlemen, this is Aero. He is one of my Lieutenants and knows the most about the Grimm Reapers." Titus said as Aero leaped down onto the ground.

"Right, so you all met Opal, that sick and twisted thunder-cunt also goes by Loki. She is second-in-command of the Grimm Reapers, below her is nine Princes who are coincidentally named after Devils and Demons: Abaddon, Alastor, Astaroth, Belial, Cerberus, Leviathan, Lilith, Paimon, and Sabnock. Each of them command one Duke and four Knights, Phantom is the Duke of Alastor and is the one who took Carmine. Phantom's semblance is smoke transportation, he uses the black smoke as a sort of portal, when it swallows someone or something, that thing is then transported to a destination that Phantom has been to before." Aero explained as he paced back and forth while holding out his fingers to symbolize the nine Princes.

"So how do we find Phantom?" Crimson asked as he typed the names of the Princes and Loki, Aero stopped in his tracks and looked down at Crimson "Well, that's the upside to this whole thing; Phantom's semblance has a 'vapor trail' so to speak. When he transports something to a destination, said destination leaves an environmental stamp on the ground at point A." Aero explained as his radio buzzed "Aero, we found something!" A voice through the radio reported, Bubba walked up to the group with a large scroll tablet and swiped up slowly "Alright boys, after connecting your auras to my scroll, I was able to gauge your aura recovery." Bubba said as he watched all the aura levels go from red to orange and one by one the Wolves pushed themselves to their feet. "I'd keep those splints on though. You may be able to walk but that doesn't mean you can charge back into combat." Bubba said sternly as the Wolves limped across the blackened sand of the desert, three men stood around a rock and a few red leaves "Here it is, do those red leaves look familiar?" Aero asked Onyx who stared at them but he only muttered two words 'Forever Fall' before he clenched his fist in anger.

 ***Meanwhile***

A man back handed Carmine across the face and punched him in the gut, knocking the wind from his lungs. Carmine was hunched over and tried to catch his breath "Where are they, Carmine!?" The man across from Carmine asked him, blood dripped from the Carmine's mouth as he caught his breath "Fuck. You." Carmine said before spitting blood onto the ground, the man next to him grabbed the back of his head and slammed his head onto the metal table. The intercom cut on "Alastor, that's enough!" Opal barked through the intercom, Alastor glared at a mirror that was above the door "How about you stay out of this Loki and let me have my fun." Alastor said as he pulled out a straight razor and placed it next to Carmine's neck, the blade slowly cut into Carmine's flesh but stopped when the door was flung open and banged against the concrete wall.

A large man dressed in all black with only two glowing red eyes walked up to Alastor and grabbed him by the throat, the razor fell from his hand and clanged against the concrete floor. The man slammed Alastor against the wall and choked him slowly, Alastor struggled to breath as the man applied more pressure "Don't step out of line again." The man said as he let go of Alastor who fell to his knees and coughed as air refilled his lungs "I'm sorry Diablo, It won't happen again." Alastor apologized as he knelt down, Diablo looked at the man that sat across from Carmine "I think you should leave, Taurus." Diablo growled as he walked out of the room, the man stood up and followed Diablo out of the room as two men entered and unshackled Carmine from the now bloody chair.

The men dragged him down the hall and into another hallway where they tossed him into a room with steel bars, a cot, and a metal toilet. The door slammed as the tumblers locked into place and locked Carmine into the cell. Carmine laid on the cold, hard concrete floor and slowly pushed himself off the ground, Carmine looked around the room and felt his neck where Alastor cut into with the straight razor but the wound was gone. Carmine clenched his fist and tried to use his semblance but nothing happened, Carmine sighed as he sat on ground and leaned against the wall "Get comfortable kid, you'll be here for a while." A man said who was in the cell next to Carmine's, his face was sunken and malnourished, he had a long, shaggy beard and was wearing tattered rags that were once clothes.

"How long have you been in here for?" Carmine asked as he wiped blood from his lip, the old man chuckled "What day is it?" He asked as he moved closer to the bars that separated the two cells. "These people are brutal." Carmine said as he rested his head against the cold stone wall, the man sighed "Yeah, I actually put a few of them away once." The man said as he lowered his head and looked down at the floor, Carmine's head bolted to attention "Wait, what was that you just said?" Carmine asked as he sat up, the man looked over at him solemnly "Hmm? Oh, yeah I used to be a Police Officer but they kidnapped me and imprisoned me here. They call him Sabnock but his real name is Gundy Lilo, he murdered seven people in Mistral and was found guilty on all counts. He was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences but when the prison transport arrived, he was nowhere to be found." The man said, Carmine felt his pockets until he found a folded piece of paper and unfolded it onto the floor.

He dabbed his finger into the wet blood on his lip and used it to write 'Sabnock – Gundy Lilo' on the paper along with 'Loki – Opal'. "What's your name, old man?" Carmine asked as he folded the paper again, the old man chuckled lightly before coughing heavily "Nobodies asked me that in a long time, I'm Thomas Lazu of the Mistral 8th Precinct or Residential Area." The man said as he extended his hand through the bars and shook Carmine's hand lightly. As he retracted his hand, the hall door slammed open "Lunch time, degenerates." A loud male voice called down the hall as it approached the cells, Thomas slid away from the wall and looked pathetic again as a lanky man walked past the cells and tossed plates of what looked to barely pass for food onto the ground. Thomas scurried over and started to quickly ingest the mush as the lanky man moved to Carmine's cell, the man slid a tray in under the cell door "Alastor made yours special." The man said as he let out a malicious laugh and walked back down the hall.

As soon as the door closed, Thomas sat up and scrapped the 'food' onto the plate and sat back by the metal bars "They want to break us and make us subservient but it won't work. Son, just know that you relit the burning fire inside the soul of this old man." Thomas said as he slowly ate his mush, Carmine looked down at his plate and saw it filled with an assortment of food: bacon, lettuce, cocktail sausages, and gelatin. Carmine picked up a piece of bacon and was about to take a bite when he sniffed deeply "Do you smell burnt hair?" Carmine asked Thomas who shook his head, Carmine grabbed the plate and moved into the light from the center dome light. He held the bacon to the light and looked it closely but was horrified at what he saw "Oh my gods, that's part of a tattoo." Carmine said as he threw the cooked piece of flesh as far away from him as possible and ran over to the toilet where he vomited the contents of his stomach into the steel bowl.

Thomas looked down at the plate and gasped in shock "That's not the only thing." Thomas said as Carmine turned around and looked at the plate on the ground, there were four fingers with burn marks on the plate along with shreds of Tobacco leaves and the gelatin. "Maybe the Gelatin is somewhat normal." Carmine said as he picked up the tray and sniffed the jiggling substance, the strong smell of iron flooded Carmine's nostrils which caused him to throw the tray out of the cell. Thomas looked at him puzzled "Not gelatin?" Thomas asked, Carmine sat down against the bars "Nope, congealed blood." Carmine said as he rested his head on one of the bars.

Carmine stared at the crevices of the bricks that were splotched with specks of mold and mildew as he thought out loud "Maybe I can use my semblance to break us out of here." Carmine said as he closed his eyes, Thomas turned his attention back to the rifleman "What's your semblance, my boy?" Thomas asked, Carmine laid back against the cold floor and glared at the roof "I can generate explosions from my fist on contact, I just unlocked it not too long ago." Carmine said as he made a fist and looked at it. "Do you know how to harness your energy so it doesn't eat away at your aura?" Thomas asked as Carmine laid on the ground, he sat up and shook his head.

Thomas chuckled lightly "Well, no better time to learn." Thomas said as he pushed himself up, Carmine followed suit and brushed the dirt off himself. "Put your hands together and place them in front of your chest like this." Thomas said as he placed his hands together in front of his heart, Carmine followed suit "Now, take a deep breath in and exhale." Thomas instructed the rifleman who took a deep breath and exhaled it out slowly. "Good, now take yourself to a place that bring you tranquility." Thomas said as Carmine closed his eyes and took himself away from the hell he was in.

He opened his eyes and found himself on laying in a hammock in between to large pine trees, snow lightly fell from the sky and collected on the ground underneath him "What's wrong, honey?" A light female voice asked curiously, the warmth of love and compassion rushed through his body as his crimson eyes met her sapphire blue eyes that was accented by her jet black hair that was draped on his chest, she laid on top of him with her left hand on his right peck. She wore a large ring on her left hand, the ring had Sapphires and Rubies and was surrounded by diamonds, she tilted her head concerned for his well-being "Yeah, I'm fine." Carmine said as he lowered his head back into the hammock, she rested her head back onto his chest and listened to his heartbeat slowly as the wind rustled the tree limbs.

Carmine looked to his right and observed a snowcapped mountain range in the distance, he turned his head left and saw a large two story house with his armored truck parked in the driveway. Sapphire exhaled a sigh of contentment as she embraced the man she loved. A voice seemed to ring out in his head "Don't you two look so content." A female voice said from within his head, Carmine looked around and noticed that Sapphire was gone.

Carmine shot out of the hammock and frantically looked around the yard for her "Sapphire!" Carmine yelled as he ran around searching, he kicked open the door and ran inside the house. He ran upstairs and pushed open the door at the end of the hall where he found Sapphire standing.

A Beowolf appeared from the darkness and wrapped its razor sharp claws around her throat, the Beowolf snarled as it sniffed her hair "I told you I would pay her a visit." The Beowolf said with Alastor's voice before it snapped her neck with one quick movement, Carmine yelled in intense anger as he was returned to the prison he was in.

Thomas stared at him as he panted and wiped sweat from his forehead "You saw it, didn't you?" Thomas asked the rifleman who leaned against the wall and slid down to the floor. "Yeah, I was in peace in the mountains with my girlfriend, or I guess in that instance, my wife. I heard Opal's voice and suddenly she was gone, I ran into the house and found Alastor with her, he snapped her neck." Carmine explained as he cradled his head in his hands, Thomas sighed "Sorry to do that to you kid but now you know what truly fills you with rage. Now, use that energy and channel your semblance into it." Thomas said as Carmine stood up and positioned himself in the middle of the cell.

He raised his hands into a combat pose with his right foot behind him and his body turned to the right, he exhaled as the same visuals flooded his head again and he watched her die again. He clenched his fists tighter as she died over and over again, he was helpless to do anything about but after the fifth time he ran forward and threw a right hook that caught Alastor on the left side of his face. When his fist connected with Alastor's face, the supernova detonated and shaved Alastor's head clean off. Carmine opened his eyes and looked at his fist as he felt the energy flowing through it, he unclenched his fist and felt the energy reenter his body as his anger died down. "Good, but don't rely on anger and rage for it, this is so you stand a chance to escape." Thomas said as Carmine approached the metal bars "You mean when we escape." Carmine said, correcting the old man but he shook his head "Sorry son, looks like you're the only one getting out of this. This old man's days of action are way behind him." Thomas said as he sat down on his cot.

Carmine looked at his hands and at the massive violation of moral ethics that littered the floor "Oh there is one more thing I want to teach you about using your semblance, it's an old method that not many people know these days, it lets you recharge your aura." Thomas said as he crossed his legs, Carmine sat on the ground and crossed his legs as well in front of the man. "Do you know what chakras are?" Thomas asked the rifleman, Carmine nodded lightly "Chakras are the seven regions within your body that when aligned, allows for energy to flow freely into you and thus, can refill your aura. The seven chakras are: The Root Chakra, The Sacral Chakra, The Solar Plexus Chakra, The Heart Chakra, The Throat Chakra, The Third Eye Chakra, and The Crown Chakra." Thomas explained while holding up seven fingers.

"Can I keep all seven aligned even if I get angry or am in combat?" Carmine asked as he leaned forward slightly, Thomas shook his head "No, you have to be calm and cool headed. But the good thing about it is that the energy can be stored in a sort of 'break in case of emergency' type of vault in your soul." Thomas explained by clasping his hands together to symbolize a vault.

"The official name of the 1st chakra, muladhara, comes from the words Mula, which means root and Dhara, which means support. When you think of your Root Chakra, think of your day to day survival here in Remnant. This energy center's role is to give you everything you need to survive. For us in this modern age, that typically translates to financial and emotional security. When your first chakra is balanced, you will feel a sense of accomplishment and peace when you think about things like money, safety and shelter. You will feel connected to your human experience." Thomas explained, extending one finger.

"The 2nd chakra is the sacral chakra or svadhishana which translates to "the place of the self." This chakra is all about your identity as a human and what you do with it. Your sacral chakra is the home of the creative life force energy that helps you enjoy your life here on Remnant. It's the energy that motivates you to enjoy the fruits of your labor including indulging in pleasurable activities like sex. When your 2nd chakra is balanced, you will relish in the pleasurable things life has to offer, without overdoing them. Sex, good food and creative activities will be inspiring and enjoyable, and you will get a sense of wellness and abundance from them." Thomas continued as he extended another finger.

"The 3rd chakra is the Solar Plexus or Manipura which translates to "lustrous gem." This chakra is where your self-confidence, identity and personal power are born. When your 3rd chakra is balanced, you will feel a sense of wisdom, decisiveness and personal power. Many call this chakra the warrior chakra, as the feeling you get from it is comparable to a wise warrior going into battle." Thomas elaborated as he pointed to his gut and extended a third finger.

"The 4th chakra is the Heart or Anahata chakra, which translates to "unhurt." This chakra is where your love, compassion and kindness are empowered. When your 4th chakra is balanced, you are able to equally feel love for yourself and others. Even when tough things happen, you can still see the compassion and kindness in others." Thomas said as he pointed to his chest and extended yet another finger.

"The 5th chakra is the Throat chakra or Vishuddha which translates to "very pure." When your throat chakra is balanced, you will be able to clearly speak with love, kindness and truth. You will know exactly which words are appropriate for each situation. Speaking with a balanced throat chakra will enlighten and inspire those around you. Balancing your 5th chakra is as easy as thinking before you speak." Thomas stated while he ran a finger down his throat and extended the fifth finger on his left hand.

"The 6th chakra is the Third Eye Chakra Ajna which translates to "beyond wisdom." This chakra opens up your mind to information beyond the material world and the 5 senses. Extra sensory perception, intuition or psychic energy, all comes from the third eye. A balanced third eye is a beautiful thing, and it's really what you are trying to achieve when you start on a path to spiritual development. When your third eye chakra is balanced, you will equally feel in tune with both the physical world and the material world. You will receive psychic information as frequently as you receive information from your 5 physical senses, but it will not overwhelm you." Thomas said as he pointed to his forehead and extended his thumb on his right hand.

"And finally, the 7th chakra is the Crown or Sahaswara, which translates to "thousand petaled." This chakra is pure consciousness energy. The Crown chakra is one of those energies that's hard to explain. Our own personal consciousness is located in the 7th chakra, but it's really more like the seed of a universal energy than something personal or individual. Achieving a balanced crown chakra is the goal of every spiritual warrior, and it's not easy to do. Once you achieve it, you're not really human anymore – you've conquered suffering and death." Thomas explained as he pointed to the top of his head and extended the seventh finger, he held up seven fingers that symbolized the seven chakras.

"That's all of it, balance all seven of them and you'll be able to take anyone on." Thomas said as he laid back on his cot, Carmine nodded as he closed his eyes and put his index finger and thumb together on both of his hands.

 ***Meanwhile, back in Vacuo***

"How do the Reapers keep gaining members?" Crimson asked confused as he crossed his arms, Onyx was crouched down near the ground as he stared at the red leaves. "All their members are convicts or dangerous criminals, Phantom for instance is wanted on multiple counts of kidnapping, murder, rape, and grand theft. Opal is wanted on crimes against humanity and Faunus, that's just the umbrella term for that thundercunt." Aero said as he described two members of the Grimm Reapers and their heinous crimes.

Onyx stood up and cracked his knuckles "We're going after them and not one of them is leaving alive." Onyx said as he started to walk back toward the wrecked K2, he opened the hatch and pulled out his bag and AK-103. Nightshade and Grullo followed suit as they removed their gear from the tank hull, Crimson and Keppel returned with their weapons from the other K2; Crimson gripped Carmine's SCAR-H and his bag as they regrouped on a sand dune.

Titus, Grizz, Aero, and Bubba joined them on the dune "We're going too, you're gonna need all the help you can get and also, those fuckers killed Danny." Titus said as he pulled back the bolt on his M4A1, Aero placed a compound bow over his body and mounted the quiver on his back. Bubba pulled back the bolt on an M249B while Grizz pulled the chord on a chainsaw and revved the engine, everyone stared at him as the engine idled "What?" Grizz asked confused as he cut the engine off.

Titus shook his head as he led the group away from the blast site and toward the base where two Humvees were parked, Wolf Pack loaded up in one and 184th took the other as they both raced off toward the initial beach landing. As they neared the beach, sand could be seen being kicked up by one of the LCACs as it was loading up a Paladin.

The Humvees came to a stop near the destroyed tent, the two teams exited them and sprinted onto the LCAC "I radioed them as we were driving, figured we could use some firepower considering what we're going up against." Titus said as the ramp closed and the LCAC pulled away from the beach. "So, do we know any of the other Reapers?" Crimson asked as the LCAC raced across the ocean, Aero shook his head "No but we better hope that Carmine doesn't meet them first." Aero said as he pulled on a pair of goggles to protect his eyes from the sea salt of the ocean.

 ***Back in Prison***

Carmine sat with his legs crossed on the cot and silently meditated until he was interrupted by the slam of a metal door "Oh Sable! Come out and play!" A male voice called out from down the hall, Thomas snapped his fingers at Carmine "Psst! It's Alastor and he sounds pissed." Thomas warned as he sat back against the wall, Alastor walked up to the cell door and banged on it "Hey you piece of shit! Did you like your lunch? I made it special." Alastor said as he opened the door, Carmine stood up and walked out his cell to where Alastor was standing "Let me guess, more torture?" Carmine asked sarcastically, Alastor pushed him forward "Nope, we got something better in store for you." Alastor said as he led Carmine down the hall and into another room where Opal, a hooded black figure, and three other people were standing. "Welcome back to the party." Opal said as the man in black cracked his knuckles, the seven stood in a group as black smoke surrounded them.

In an instant, they were transported to the fractured remains of what was once a large city "Wait, I know this place. This is Mountain Glenn, so 'something better in store' is a tour? Thanks guys, you shouldn't have." Carmine said sarcastically, Alastor kneed him in the ribs and knocked him to the ground. Opal smacked Alastor in the back of the head "Don't break his ribs, they might puncture his lungs." Opal said as the man in black picked Carmine back up and dusted him off, Alastor pushed Carmine forward as Opal led them to the destroyed remains of a large building that was falling apart. As they got closer to a large door, a Beowolf walked out from behind a pillar and stood in front of the door as if it were a sentry; Carmine couldn't help but laugh "It thinks its people." Carmine said as he chuckled to himself, Alastor smacked him in the back of the head as they got closer.

Opal walked up to the Beowolf and rubbed it on the snout "Oh Blue, you're getting so big." Opal said as the Beowolf nuzzled her neck, Carmine starred in disbelief at what he was seeing. Opal rubbed its belly and scratched behind its head "Now, can you open the door?" Opal asked in what seemed like baby talk, the Beowolf trotted over to the door and grabbed the large three spoke handle, it twisted left and unlocked the door with ease "Good boy, Blue!" Opal said as she rubbed Blue's belly, Blue laid on the ground as she rubbed his belly "Alright Blue, I want you to close the door behind us, ok." Opal said as Alastor pushed Carmine into the room and down three flights of stairs, Opal rounded the corner and descended the stairs as the large vault door closed behind them.

As they reached the bottom of the stairs, the sound of screams could be heard echoing throughout the halls of the dimly lit chamber. Alastor pushed Carmine down the hall labeled '3' on the wall, rooms with viewing glasses lined the hall and all of them were filled with bloody chairs or people strapped into the chairs begging for mercy. They arrived at the end of the hall in front of a single door, a man in a leather apron opened the door "Ah, what do we have here? Is this the infamous Carmine Sable I've heard so much about?" The man asked as he lifted up a bloody mask and grabbed Carmine's jaw, turning his face left and right "What a fine specimen." The man said as he guided them inside, Alastor pushed Carmine into a chair and strapped his wrists down to the arms of the chair. The walked to the front of the room and faced Carmine "Well, my name is Belial and let's have some fun." The man said as he wheeled a cart over from beside a cabinet.

A door opened on the side of the wall and a man was guided out by Alastor, Belial grabbed him by the arm and chained him to the wall. Fear was plastered all over his face as he tried to get out of the restraints, Opal leaned against a wall and tossed an apple in her hand "Where is the base, Carmine?" She asked before taking a bite of the apple, Carmine remained silent and looked down at the ground. Opal sighed and nodded to Belial, he nodded and lowered his mask as he picked up a scalpel and cut across the man's abdomen. The man screamed in pain as blood seeped from the fresh wound on his stomach, tears slowly flowed down his cheeks as the blood dripped onto the ground. "Let him go!" Carmine yelled as he tried to break from the restraints, Alastor laughed "Not until you tell us what we want." Alastor said as Belial made another cut on the man's arm.

Blood flowed down his arm and onto the floor, blending with the other pools of blood on the floor already. Carmine gritted his teeth in anger as the man weeped in pain, Alastor got in Carmine's face "Tells us where and all of this stops." Alastor said, Carmine drew his head back and slammed it into Alastor's face. He stumbled back and gripped his face "Fuck! My nose!" Alastor said as blood flowed from his nostrils as he held his hand over his mouth and nose. Belial picked up an axe from against the wall and swung it into the man's neck, decapitating him instantly. His head fell to the ground with a thud and rolled around on the ground, Carmine turned his head away from the sight but the man in black held his head straight and his eyes open. A trap door opened on the floor and the body fell into the dark pit below, Belial kicked the head in before the door closed again; the door on the wall opened again as a hooded figure led a terrified woman out of the room and handed her over to Belial who chained her to the wall.

Belial pulled out a knife and caressed the woman's neck with it as he inhaled deeply "Mmm, you smell nice, it's a shame about what's gonna happen to your pretty face." Belial said as he grabbed her breast, the woman was petrified as tears flowed from her eyes, Opal pushed herself off the wall "Hey Belial, save me her eyes." Opal said as she tossed the apple core onto the floor, Belial looked at the core and scoffed "Loki, please don't dirty up my workspace." Belial said as he placed the apple core into the trashcan. Alastor opened a cabinet and pulled out a steel bat, twirling it in his hand casually as he walked back over to where Carmine was.

In one swift movement, he struck Carmine in the ribs with bat and knocked the air from his lungs; Carmine hunched over and gasped for air as Alastor lifted his head with the tip of the bat "Don't pass out yet bitch boy, the show is just about to begin." Alastor said as Belial rolled a metal cart over and removed the sheet that covered it. The metal cart held a small generator and a set of jumper cables attached to it, he attached the jumper cables to the chains that held the woman to the wall and turned a knob on the generator. The woman's body began to convulse as electricity flowed throughout her, she thrashed violently while Belial grinned as he turned the voltage up.

Carmine closed his eyes as he tried to focus his energy and block out the woman's screaming, he felt the energy swell in his fists as it charged up. He pushed his arms forward and slammed them down on the arms of the chair, two explosions detonated when his fists connected and blew the shackles on his wrists off. The steel clattered to the grown as he pushed himself out of the chair, he reached down and blew the ankle shackles off as Alastor slammed the steel bat into his back.

Carmine stumbled across the room and caught himself on the wall, Alastor charged at him as Carmine charged a Supernova in his right fist and connected it into Alastor's chest, which sent the Reaper flying into the wall. Carmine picked the bat up and cracked Belial across the face with the bat, the man in black charged at him but he connected the bat to the man's left leg, which fractured his Tibia and sent the man to the ground. Carmine turned the generator off and removed the jumper cables as the woman shook from the residual electricity, Carmine sighed as he looked around the room for Opal but she was already gone "Fuck!" Carmine yelled as he made his way over to Alastor who was picking himself up off the ground, Carmine shoved him into the wall and pushed the bat into his throat "Where did she go?!" Carmine asked angrily but Alastor just laughed maniacally.

 ***Meanwhile on the LCAC***

"Alright, we're nearing Vale. When we make land fall, make your way toward Forever Fall. We'll…" Titus was saying as his scroll started to go off "Go for Titus! Oh, well you don't say. Alright, thanks for the head's up!" Titus yelled as he closed his scroll, he looked back Onyx and Nightshade "Well change of plans boys, a scouting party from Beacon saw people moving through the ruins of Mountain Glenn. So I guess that's where we're going." Titus said as the LCAC road up onto the land, the main door opened and the Wolf Pack ran out onto the beach, Onyx looked back at Titus "Leave the Paladin, we'll take an airship there! It'll be way faster!" Onyx yelled, Titus sighed and grabbed his M4 as the Militants rushed off the LCAC. The group of Mercenaires ran up the stairs and through the streets of Vale, Crimson pushed off the brick road and sprinted toward the air docks where a Bullhead was docked.

Crimson stumbled as he grabbed the handle and pulled himself onto the VTOL "WE NEED TO GO TO MOUNTAIN GLENN!" Crimson yelled before he collapsed to the ground, out of breath. Nightshade and Onyx caught up and boarded the Bullhead "What he said." Onyx said as he picked Crimson up off the ground, the pilot nodded and fired the engines up which shot out blue jets of fire as the rest of the team boarded the VTOL, the air ship took off into the sky and banked right as it mades it way to the derelict city. Within minutes, the VTOL circled around the abandoned metropolitan city and touched down in a clearing that was littered with destroyed swingsets and basketball hoops, the back opened and the joint task force stormed out of the aircraft but Onyx looked back to the pilot "Circle around and wait for our exfil!" Onyx yelled to which the pilot shot a thumbs up back at him.

Shots rang out as they dispatched Boarbatusks and Creeps that charged at them, Grizz plunged his Chainsaw into the chest of a Creep and cut it half before mutilating a Boarbatusk by jabbing it in the face, bullet casings flew from Bubba's M249B as he mowed down three Ursas and two Beringels that collapsed to the ground and smoked into nothing. Keppel scanned the horizon as he did a full 360, his sight rested on a single building that had an Alpha Beowolf standing in the middle of the building "There! That building!" Keppel said as he pointed out the destroyed building, the team charged through the streets and into the husk of a building, the Beowolf roared as it charged at the team; Grizz rushed forward and caught the Beowolf in the throat with the chainsaw, he flipped a switch and dumped bullets into the Grimm's chest as they broke through the body and hit the roof. The Grimm dropped to the ground and turned to dust as the team approached the vault door it was protecting "Grullo! You're up!" Onyx yelled, the heavy gunner walked up to the door and jiggled the three prong handle "Locked tight, guess we're doing this the old fashion way." Grullo said as he pulled his bag off and pulled out a box labeled 'Thermite'.

He pulled two sets of panels and tossed the box to the side, he stuck the charges to the door and unfolded them both and crossed the wires, before pulling both ignition pins "Get back!" Grullo yelled as he scrambled behind a pillar, the others hid behind fallen pieces of debris and concrete; he clicked the detonator which caused the two charges to cut into the door, the bright orange of the burning thermite lit up the surrounding area then BOOM! The charges exploded and blew the thick steel inward and made a giant hole in the wall, Onyx stood up and stormed through the smoke into the open chasm, he quickly descended the stairs and came to the muliple hallways that were in front of him.

Screams of tortured people echoed throughout all the hallways, he stood in shock as all of it hit him at one time, the others joined him on the main floor and stood shocked. Titus nudged Bubba "Go call Vale Police, tell them we need multiple units here now." Titus said before Bubba sprinted back up the stairs to call for backup.

 ***Meanwhile***

As Carmine kneed Alastor in the gut and slammed his head into the wall, an explosion echoed throughout the bunker which stopped Carmine in his tracks "Looks like your friends are here!" Carmine said as he headbutted Alastor and knocked him out, he picked the bat up and grabbed the man in black who was crawling away. He pushed down on the compound fracture that was jutting out of the man's leg which caused him to scream in agony "Where is your base?!" Carmine demanded as he grabbed the man's hand and broke his pinky finger, the man pleaded with the rifleman "Please man, I'll tell you anything just please stop!" The man begged, Carmine scoffed "Oh now you beg for mercy but laughed when that piece of shit tortured that man to death?!" Carmine yelled as he pushed the metal bat into the man's throat but perked up when he heard talking.

 ***Joint Task Force***

Muffled screams echoed from the end of a hall labeled '3' and Onyx jogged down the hall toward the door at the end, the others followed as they passed rooms with people strapped to chairs and empty bloody chairs, as they got closer to the door they could here muffled words "Oh now you beg for mercy?!" A muffled voice yelled, Onyx stepped back and kicked the door down before charging in to the horror of the torture room. Carmine charged at them with a bat but Onyx shoved his shoulder into Carmine's gut, knocking the man to the ground "Friendly! Friendly!" Crimson yelled as he came in with his rifle raised, Carmine pushed himself off the ground and wrapped his arms around Onyx "You have no idea how happy I am to see you guys!" Carmine said as he started to break down, Crimson and Keppel embraced him in a bear hug as he sobbed.

Titus and Aero strolled through the doorway and looked at the carnage but Aero stopped "That's Alastor, over there is Belial, and the one with the broken Tibia is Phantom." Aero said as he pointed to each of the Reapers, Nightshade kneeled down next to Alastor and patted his pockets, he pulled out a set of dog tags, women's lingerie, and a red crystal skull. "Guys! Look at this!" Nightshade said as he handed the assorted items to Onyx, Carmine grabbed the dog tags and put them around his neck, he shoved the panties into his pocket and acted like nothing happened. "So what were you doing in here?" Grullo asked as he picked Alastor up off the ground and hung him on a meat hook by his harness, the man slowly spun in a circle as he dangled in the air.

"Well, I was trying to figure out where there base is located. That's what they tried to get from me." Carmine said before he held his hand up "Hold that thought." He said as he made his way over to a door on the wall and swung it open, he flipped a light on and came to realize the horror that laid in front of him. People in cages lined the wall, children in smaller ones and women chained to the walls with harnesses around their necks, the people looked petrified as they stared at Carmine who stood in the doorway. Titus walked over to the woman chained to the wall in the torture room and placed two fingers on her neck as he felt for a pulse "She's alive, but just barely." Titus said as the woman sprung back to life "Oh gods, please don't hurt me!" She yelled as she begged for her life, Titus grabbed her hand and held it "Hey! Hey! You're gonna be alright, the bad people are not gonna hurt you again." Titus said as he unshackled her wrists and legs.

Onyx, Nightshade, and Crimson joined Carmine in the holding room and were met with the same horror that Carmine was, Carmine stood motionless with his head lowered as he looked at the grey steel floor "They're gonna burn. All of them. They will all die a brutal death, these transgressions will not go unanswered. Opal's death with be uploaded to the net for all to see as evil is purged from Remnant." Carmine said as he cracked his knuckles, Onyx walked up behind his brother and placed his hand on his shoulder "We'll make them pay, for this, for Vacuo, and for all of the other shit like Komsu." Onyx said, Carmine turned around and looked at his brother confused "Komsu? But that was the White Fang." Carmine said confused, Onyx shook his head as he showed Carmine the red skull "Nightshade found this on Alastor." Onyx said as he placed it back in his pocket.

"Hey, you want to interrogate these guys before reinforcements arrive?" Grullo asked as he stared at Phantom's wrecked body that sat in the metal chair, Crimson backed out of the room and grabbed Belial who laid on the ground. Titus carried the woman away as Crimson placed Belial in the same shackles and picked up the jumper cables, he turned the DC power on and tapped the clamps together which generated an arc of electricity "Keppel. His pants. Off." Crimson said, Keppel pulled out his Ka-Bar and cut Belial's belt off, his pants dropped to his ankles as the man woke up "Wha… What the fuck?" Belial asked confused as he tried to move but found it difficult.

"Morning sunshine." Crimson said as he clamped the jumper cables to Belial's testacles and his penis, Belial struggled more intensely as he tried to break free but he just tired himself out. "Now, let's start with an easy one: What is your name?" Crimson asked as he kept his hand on the dial, the chained man stalled "Ding times up!" Crimson said as he twisted the dial, Belial convulsed wildly as electricity coursed through his body which caused the man to scream out in pain. "PERCY! AMAS!" Belial yelled through the convulsions, Crimson cut the current off "Now, was that so hard?" Crimson asked in a condescending manner, Belial lowered his head as he recovered from the electric shock. "So Percy, where is the base?" Crimson asked, Belial panted heavily "Forever. Fall. Cave. Entrance." Belial said, Keppel wrote down what he was saying.

Aero walked over to Crimson and showed him his Scroll "I ran his name through the database and this is his rap sheet: Three counts of murder, twelve counts of rape, four counts of assaulting a police officer, seven counts of human trafficking, and twenty counts of grand theft." Aero said as he closed his scroll, Crimson shook his head "Right, so we know what we need to do." Crimson said before he pulled out his pistol and shot Belial in the head, blood splattered all over the wall as his body fell limp. Crimson replaced his pistol back into its holster and clicked the strap closed, Carmine and Onyx walked back into the room with the rest of the guys who were looking at Belial's now dead body "Good riddance, you piece of shit." Carmine said before he moved over to Phantom.

Keppel looked at the blood stained floor, he tried to find Opal's footprints but the crisscrossing of boot prints made it almost impossible "Damn, I'm trying to use my semblance to track Opal but with this floor, it's impossible. I need something that would have her scent or DNA on it." Keppel said as he looked around the room, Carmine pointed at the trashcan "Apple core, it's what she was eating." Carmine explained as Keppel moved over to the can and pulled out an apple core, he stared at the core and looked at the bite marks which had residual saliva "Ah ha! Got you now." Keppel said as he cut the bite mark out, Keppel closed his eyes tight and reopened them. His irises changed from a light brown to a glowing cyan blue, he stared at the chunk of apple and analyzed the bio components, he quickly pulled out his scroll and typed in the raw information that he was processing in his head.

"Got it, her full name is Opal Mai, she is approximately 5'7". She is a Faunus with Chameleon attributes so she can change minute details like hair, eye, and skin color. Wait, according to this double helix, the sequence for skin color transition is defective. Her semblance lets her project a mirror image of herself anywhere in a mile radius. Her shoe size is a size 8 so I can track her easily now." Keppel said as he stared at the ground and followed a single set of footprints that led to the wall.

"Dude! What is your semblance?! That was insane!" Aero exclaimed as Keppel felt the wall "I call it Bloodhound, it lets me analyze the DNA of any person and provides me raw information like blood type, species, and gender, I then enter that into my scroll that runs that info through all the databases of the different kingdoms until it gives me a result. My semblance also lets me track footprints and scents." Keppel said as he pushed a square in the wall inward which caused a segment to raise up.

"Looks like we got a secret path. I say we wait for reinforcements to show up first." Keppel said as Alastor woke up as he dangled from a meat hook, he struggled lightly as he tried to get his harness off. Bubba ran into the room with everyone else "Vale Police are on their way here now." Bubba explained as he looked at the current situation "Did I miss something?" Bubba asked as Titus leaned against the wall next to Aero, Phantom writhed in pain as Alastor dangled from a meat hook and Belial was chained to the wall, dead. Titus pushed himself off of the wall and walked over to Phantom who was in the chair "You comply with us and Bubba here will heal those wounds." Titus said, Phantom shook his head "Please! I'll tell you whatever you want to know." Phantom pleaded with the man who stood before him.

Bubba rubbed his hands together and placed them above Phantom's leg, the bone moved back inside the leg and the skin reconnected with itself as the bone healed back solid. Bone clicked in his hand as his pinky was reset and the fracture was healed, Phantom opened and closed his hand as he tested the newly repaired joint. "Alright, now talk. What's is the Grimm Reaper's master plan?" Titus asked as he folded his arms, Phantom sat up and put his hands together "I would like to tell you, honestly. Because I am terrified about what he would do to me." Phantom said as he gestured toward Carmine who cracked his knuckles.

"Alright! Belial already told you where the base is, at least one of them is. If you go there and find Diablo's office, look for a black filing cabinet, and in the third drawer should be a layout of the base, a map with the other locations, and maybe the plans. If you can't find the plans, then you can interrogate Astaroth; he is Diablo's right hand man." Phantom explained as he told them everything, Carmine stepped forward and looked at Phantom.

"One more thing: We found a woman who had the same red crystal skull that Alastor had, what is it and what does it mean?" Carmine asked as he stared at Phantom "Oh, you ran into Lilith. Opal sent her there to round up people for trafficking but she never reported back. As for what they mean, they're makers for the nine Princes, they have little crowns etched into the front of the skull." Phantom explained, Onyx pulled out the skull and examined it closer "Well shit, I never noticed that." Onyx said amused by the discovery.

"I take it that you guys are the reason she never returned?" Phantom asked, Crimson glared at the man "She was hunting down and killing children, she slaughtered the whole town and strung them up from trees." Crimson said, Phantom lowered his head "Diablo was going to strip her from the team since he has a strict 'no child victims' policy, she was insane and killed anyone she came in contact with." Phantom said, Bubba looked down the hall to the main room as officers stormed the room with weapons drawn.

Onyx nudged Keppel "Get a DNA analyze on Alastor before the cops get here." Onyx said, Keppel moved over to where Alastor was dangling and wiped away some blood from his mouth, Alastor stared at him as Keppel started his analyses, Keppel's eyes raced back and forth as the information flooded his frontal lobe. He focused on a double helix and broke the genome apart in his mind, he pulled out his scroll and typed the raw data into the search engine "Han Lec. Age: 27. Blood type: A-. Oh, you have multiple warrants in Atlas. I bet they'll have a field day with you." Keppel said as he handed the information over to Onyx.

As they all stood around the room, four officers walked into the room and were shocked at what they saw "This place is like a house of horrors." One of the officers said as Onyx walked up to them and extended his hand "Onyx Sable, leader of the Wolf Pack. There are prisoners in the back room there and we're pretty sure they're some of the people on the missing posters around town." Onyx said as he pointed to the open door in the back. "Right, we'll contact huntsmen and Atlas to help get these people out. Now, what is the story here?" The lead officer asked, Carmine stepped forward and began to explain everything "These are two princes of the Grimm Reapers, Alastor and Belial. In the chair is Phantom, his semblance lets him teleport to locations that he is familiar with so that is probably how some of these kidnappings happened. We don't know his real name so we haven't done a background check on him." Carmine explained as the officer wrote the information down.

"We recommend extraditing Alastor to Atlas to stand trial and giving Phantom to us. We don't know the extent of his crimes since all we know is his alias." Crimson said, Phantom yelled a name out loud when he heard 'giving Phantom to us.' "Perry Ube! My name is Perry Ube! I'm 24 and from Mistral." Phantom said as Keppel typed the name into his scroll "Huh, all they have him for is petty theft and loitering. Why did you join the Grimm Reapers?" Keppel asked confused, Perry looked at the ground "My older brother was a subordinate of Leviathan's but he was killed by Lilith when she had a psychotic break down and shot him repeatedly. Ever since then, I have been trying to find an out and that's why I loosened the bolts on this chair." Perry explained as his unscrewed the washer the rest of the way from the bolt.

"Did you kill anyone innocent?" Nightshade asked as he stared at Perry, he shook his head "No, I just collected who they told me to collect." Perry said, Onyx scratched his head as he thought to himself "So you were a victim of circumstance, so if you knew what Carmine was capable of, why didn't you spring him sooner?" Onyx asked the young man in the chair, he looked at Alastor and lowered his head "After everything Alastor did to him, I doubt he would have believed me if I told him." Perry said, Carmine shook his head "Yeah, I was so angry I might have blown you away on the spot." Carmine said as he patted the man on the shoulder.

Grullo escorted a few of the officers to the back room and revealed to them the horror of humans and Faunus inside of cages like animals, one of the officers grabbed his radio and flicked it on "We're going to need multiple transports and emergency services here." The officer said as he walked inside the room and looked at all the terrified people.

"Please, don't worry. You're safe now, we're going to get you all to safety." The officer said as another officer entered the room with bolt cutters and started to cut the locks off, the metal locks hit the ground with a heavy clang. The lead officer approached Carmine and Onyx who were leaning against the wall "Alright, you guys can head out. We got it covered from here, backup just arrived outside." The officer said as he shook Onyx's hand, Carmine clapped his hands and got everyone's attention "Wolf Pack and 184th, we're moving out." Carmine said as Crimson approached him and handed him his SCAR.

Keppel reexamined the footprints on the ground and tracked them down the new passage way, Onyx and Crimson followed behind him with their tactical lights on and pointed down range. Grullo escorted a now handcuffed Phantom down the corridor with the barrel of his LMG pointed at Phantom's back "So why would she use this path?" Nightshade asked as he kept his FAL pointed down the path as it started to open up more. "Because this leads to a cave and I assume there was a vehicle parked in said cave." Phantom said as they walked into the cave, light shone from the mouth of the cave and illuminated a black silhouette in the light.

Crimson pointed his rifle at a silhouette and illuminated a BTR-60 "Whoa! I haven't seen one of these in years!" Carmine said as he sprinted forward and climbed up on the front of the APC, he reached down and opened the hatch before he slipped inside of the APC. He popped out of the side escape door and coughed "Oh gods! It's fucking dusty." Carmine said as he coughed "Let me use your flashlight." Carmine said to Keppel, he reached into his pouch on his side and pulled out a small, black flashlight and tossed it to Carmine.

Carmine clicked the light on and shone it inside the dark APC "Oh here's the problem! I knocked the key out." Carmine said as he put the key back in and turned the ignition, the APC roared to life and shot black smoke out the exhaust pipe. He clicked the lights on and illuminated the rest of the cave.

"Alright, everyone get in." Titus said as he climbed up and opened the rear hatch. One after another, the joint task force boarded the APC and closed the hatch behind them. Crimson got into the passenger seat next to Carmine and activated the weapons system mounted on the roof, Carmine grabbed the shifter and pushed it forward before he pressed the pedal down. The BTR slowly pulled out of the Cave and into a makeshift trail in the forest outside Mountain Glenn "Hook a right! That's where Vale is!" Onyx said, Carmine turned the steering wheel and drove the BTR through the forest slowly.

The heavy wheels crushed the brush beneath the heavy metal hull, sticks and branches were crushed into splinters as the BTR drove through the forest. The main turret spun as Crimson scanned the surroundings, as he looked through the optics, he could have sworn he saw movement "Hey, I think I saw something chasing us." Crimson said as he looked through the optics again.

Suddenly, the BTR came to a screeching halt as the tires dug into the ground. "What is it?" Onyx asked as Carmine stared dead ahead of them, only a single word escaped Carmine's lips.

"Goliath."

 **A/N: Thus ends chapter 5: Lone Wolf. So much information in one chapter! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it and stay tuned for Chapter 6: Bunker Bustin' Good Time. Remember to Favorite, Follow, and leave a Review. Volume 6 is set to air on October 27** **th** **so look forward to a new chapter in Titan Rising, and as always, This is Nightmare 6-4, signing off.**


	6. Chapter 6: Bunker Bustin' Good Time

Wolf Pack Ch. 6 – Bunker Bustin' Good Time

 **I do not own RWBY, RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum (R.I.P.) nor do I own any media that may appear in the story. I only own the OCs, Enjoy! Remember to Favorite, Follow, and leave a Review. (Warning: This will get graphic)**

Shells clanged as they hit the metal roof of the BTR which was quickly speeding in reverse, the Goliath Grimm charged toward the APC, its footsteps thundering as they impacted the ground. Gunfire erupted from the barrel of the 14.5mm KPV Heavy Machine Gun that was mounted on the roof, Carmine spun the APC around and threw the gear into first before he slammed on the pedal. Crimson turned the main gun around and fired behind them as the Goliath chased them through the forest, Grullo and Keppel stood up out of the side hatches with their guns pointed at the Grimm's head.

Keppel ejected a spent shell from Charon as he aimed at the Goliath "Hold it steady!" Keppel yelled as he steadied his rifle on the roof of the BTR, he took a deep breath in as he squeezed the trigger of the .50 Cal sniper rifle. The rifle bucked backwards as the large round raced down range and impacted the Grimm in the head, the Goliath dropped like a sack of rocks and slid to a stop before evaporating into black smoke. Just then two Ursa and two Beowolves ran out of the brush behind the BTR "Shit! We got more!" Grullo yelled as he fired at the Beowolves, the rounds ripped through one and reduced it to ash but the other ran in a serpentine pattern as it closed the gap between them.

The Beowolf leaped up into the air as it tried to swipe at Grullo, but it caught a 14.5mm to the chest and dropped it to the ground where it dissipated into nothingness. Keppel moved back into the APC as Nightshade rose out of the hatch and pointed his FAL at the Ursa "Smile mother fucker!" Nightshade said as he dumped seven rounds into their heads, the Grimm collapsed to the forest floor lifeless before disappearing. "Any others?!" Carmine asked as he lifted his foot from the pedal, Crimson flipped a switch on the optics system and activated the thermal optics "Well I got good news and bad news: good news is the thermal optics work, bad news is there are a lot of fucking Grimm behind us." Crimson said, Carmine jerked the wheel to the left and spun the BTR around only to face a line of Grimm.

Beowolves, Ursa, Creeps, and Griffons were lined up in front of the APC and scratched the ground as they contested the Joint Operations team "You boys want to get up close and personal?" Titus asked as he pulled back the bolt on his M4, Carmine looked at his team who nodded to him "Let's fucking do it! Keppel, take control of the turret since you only have Charon. Also, someone has to watch Phantom." Carmine said as he grabbed his SCAR and climbed out of the BTR, the rest of the Joint Ops followed behind him out of different hatches on the APC. Grizz fired his chainsaw up and revved the engine, Carmine checked the mag in his rifle "Alright, I got thirty rounds. I better make them count." Carmine said as he pulled back the bolt on the side. Titus pulled a Bowie knife out a sheath on his side and handed it to Carmine "Here, take this in case you run out of ammo." Titus said as he adjusted the stock on his M4, Carmine placed the blade in between his pants and his belt.

"Let's get this party started." Onyx said as he aimed at one of the Beowolves and unloaded into its chest, the line of Grimm charged as the Beowolf died and smoked away. Gunfire echoed through the trees as mercenaries fought with the creatures of Grimm, one by one the Grimm were shredded by the combination of 7.62, 5.56, .308, and 14.5mm. An Ursa charged full speed toward the group, their bullets ricocheted off the armor plating that had grown around its neck and shoulders; Grizz laughed as he ran forward and plunged his chainsaw up into the neck of the heavy Grimm, the chain spun as it flung chunks of black meat and blood onto the ground. The Ursa's body dropped and evaporated into the air, Carmine fired his battle rifle and killed two Creeps and three Beowolves "Damn, ten rounds left. Alright, fuck it." Carmine said as he put his rifle on his back and pulled out the Bowie knife, he held the blade upside down as a Beowolf ran at him.

The large Grimm leaped into the air and plunged its claws into Carmine's back as he thrusted the blade into its neck, the wounds on his back slowly disappeared as his aura healed the wound. Carmine ran forward and threw a roundhouse into the side of an Ursa's head, the Ursa slapped the blade out of his hand. Carmine clenched his fist and elbowed the Ursa in the side of the head before he drove his knee up into its jaw and followed it with an uppercut that exploded on impact, the blast shaved the Ursa's head clean off its body. Bullet riddled Griffons crashed to the ground and poofed into black smoke, flashes of light came from the barrel of the KPV as it ripped through the rest of the Grimm.

Carmine sprinted forward and drove his knee into the throat of a Beowolf before he maneuvered behind it and grabbed its head, in one quick motion, Carmine snapped the Grimm's neck. The rifleman spun around and kicked a Creep in the side, the impact sent the Grimm into the side of a tree and splintered the bark. Carmine ran up and plunged his foot down into the side of its head, fracturing its skull and breaking its neck. The Creep fell to the ground and smoked away as Carmine leaned against a tree and caught his breath "Man, that Grimm really got you didn't it." Onyx said as he walked over to his little brother, gunfire echoed from inside the brush as the team put down the stragglers.

"Yeah but I'll walk it off." Carmine said as he pushed himself off the tree, Crimson and Nightshade walked through the brush with their rifles pointed toward the ground "Everything good over here?" Crimson asked as Carmine pulled his rifle off of his back and leaned it against the tree "Yeah, I think my body is fatigued from all of this mayhem." Carmine said as he stretched his arms and cracked his knuckles. "Where is your gear at and better yet, why didn't they at least give you a shirt?" Crimson asked the bare-chested rifleman, Carmine chuckled as he picked his battle rifle back up and held it by the handguard.

Titus and Aero walked over to the four members of Wolf Pack "So who do you think sent them?" Nightshade asked as he reloaded his FAL, Aero placed his bow over his body and adjusted the string "If I had to take a wild guess, I would say Cerberus sent them after us." Aero said as he shifted his weight to his left leg, Onyx pondered a thought to himself for a moment before he spoke "How the hell would he control them?" Onyx asked confused, Aero scratched the side of his head as he sighed "That's the thing, we only have hypotheses about how they control them but we think it might have something to do with who they're aligned with. It's someone that the White Fang knows." Aero said as the BTR pulled up to where they were standing.

Grullo stood up out of the hatch and crossed his arms "Alright ladies, are we going or what? I mean Carmine looks like death and we need to rearm before we even think about assaulting Forever Falls." Grullo explained as the six men climbed into the APC, Carmine moved over to the driver seat but stopped as he looked around the room "Hey guys, is the BTR spinning?" Carmine asked as he collapsed on the ground, Bubba rushed over and placed two fingers on the rifleman's throat "Alright he's alive but he needs rest and food." Bubba said as Onyx shifted the BTR into first and spun it around.

 ***Five Hours Later***

Carmine opened his eyes slowly and looked around the room he was in, he quickly realized he was back in his room at the Wolf Pack HQ. He rubbed his head as he sat up and got out of bed "Oh gods, was it all a bad fever dream?" He asked himself as he opened his bedroom door and walked out of it. Onyx, Crimson, Titus, Aero, and Nightshade stood near the armory as they conversed with each other, Grullo and Grizz arm wrestled each other at the table while Keppel and Bubba conversed with each other as they reloaded their weapons.

"Hey Hey! There's the man of the hour, how you feeling?" Onyx asked Carmine who looked bewildered, Carmine shook his head "What the fuck happened?" Carmine asked as he sat down on the couch and sat back against the cushion, Aero walked into the kitchen as Bubba walked over to Carmine with a flashlight and blood pressure cuff "Look at my nose and don't move your eyes." Bubba said as he shined the light into Carmine's eyes and moved it from left to right, the pupils constricted when the light hit them "Well there's no damage to the Iris's and your eyes reacted perfectly to the light. Just get something to eat and prep your gear, we'll be making plans to strike Forever Fall." Bubba said as he placed the cuff on Carmine's arm and squeezed the inflation bulb until it tightened around his arm, Bubba placed a stethoscope's bell over the brachial artery just below the cuff. The medic listened as he heard the two knocking noises of the systolic and diastolic pressure.

"Alright you got a solid 122/80." Bubba said as Aero returned with a fresh cup of tea and sat it on the coffee table in front of Carmine "Here's some black tea, it should help with the fatigue and help mentally." Aero said as he sat a small bowl of sugar cubes down beside the tea, Carmine nodded his head in thanks before he dropped seven sugar cubes into the hot tea. "Hey Carmine, have you always had those two scars on your side?" Titus asked as Carmine sipped his tea, the rifleman shook his head "What scars?" He asked confused as he stood up and made his way to his bathroom, he turned his side toward the mirror and looked at the two long rectangle scars on his side.

The memory of Alastor's twisted lunch came rushing back like a freight train "Oh that son of a bitch!" Carmine said out loud before he walked back into the main room with the others, he let out a deep sigh before he laughed to himself "Our old friend Alastor did this to me, he cut my flesh into strips of bacon, fried them, and tried to serve them to me." Carmine said as he explained the new scars on his side, Aero shook his head as he thought about the torture Carmine went through.

Titus pulled out his scroll and tapped a few numbers in before he made a call, the room was quiet before he spoke again "Hey Quinn, its Titus. Say, I got a favor to ask. Do you think you could spare a venom and an Osprey? We're about attack the Reaper's base of operations. Oh great, we're in Vale near Beacon. See you there, Quinn." Titus said before he closed his scroll, the whole room stared at him as if he a suddenly grown a second head.

"What was that about?" Aero asked as Titus walked over to Onyx "Well, you remember how you fought against the Devil's Disciples and the Viper Legion at the Schnee Gala? Well, those weren't actual Devil's Disciples or Viper Legion mercenaries. Those were ones who had been kicked out of their groups and guess who picked them up?" Titus asked the room, Nightshade clenched his fist "The Grimm Reapers." Nightshade said with a chuckle, Onyx cut in "But how do you know that for sure?" Onyx asked confused, Titus laughed a hearty laugh "Son, I have been a mercenary for a long time and you learn how to tell the difference between a mercenary and a criminal quickly.

Besides, The Viper Legion is a private air force like we're a private ground army." Titus said as he leaned against the wall "Well then what are The Devil's Disciples? Everything I've ever known about the other mercenary groups has been a lie, hell I was convinced that any of the groups could have been a threat on the night of the Gala. Including the 184th. " Onyx said, his morale had been diminished as he took in the new knowledge.

"How did you figure that all mercenary groups could be a threat?" Titus asked, Onyx walked into the planning room that was lined with charts and monitors, he emerged seconds later and handed a piece of paper to Titus "I received a memo from Atlas informing us that the other groups were not to be trusted." Onyx said as Titus read the memo "Arthur Watts huh. That sneaky little rat bastard is nothing more than a disgraced scientist who is a coconspirator of the White Fang." Titus said as he handed the note back to Onyx.

"There are only two groups that you should be worried about: The Grimm Reapers and The White Fang. The others are our allies, if you had run into the other groups they would have tried to resolve it peacefully." Aero said as he placed his hand on Onyx's shoulder.

"Alright, let's load up and go get these mother fuckers!" Grullo yelled as he slammed Grizz's arm down onto the table. Carmine stood up and walked back into his room, he opened his closet and pulled out a black Ripstop BDU along with a fresh pair of Crye Precision G3 Combat Pants.

Carmine pulled off the dirt covered Kryptek VTX 1001 and pulled on the fresh G3 Combat Pants along with the Ripstop BDU, he buttoned the combat shirt up and reached into his closet again but pulled out a 5.11 VTAC LBE Tactical Vest and placed it over himself. He clipped the sides closed and tightened them around his chest before he pulled a pair A.T.A.C. 8" Steel Toe Combat Boots out of the closet. He pulled the boots on and laced them up before placing the pants legs over them. He stood up and stomped his feet to ease his feet into the boots, he walked out of his room and into the armory where the others were loading up their spare mags.

Keppel handed him a 5.11 Rush72 Backpack and four boxes of .308 rounds for his SCAR-H that was on the table in the middle of the armory, Carmine laid the bag on the table and walked over to the cabinet by the wall that held submachine guns in it. He reached into the cabinet and pulled out a 9x19VSN from the cabinet and sat it on the table along with four spare mags, he picked up a magazine and started loading bullets into the stick mag. He placed them in the bag along with the Submachine Gun and zipped the bag up before placing it on his back.

"Why are you wearing a medium vest and not your usual heavy vest?" Crimson asked, Carmine slapped a mag into his SCAR and pulled back the bolt to chamber a round "They have a man locked in there who helped me better control my semblance, he taught me how to harness my chakras and build up a ball of energy inside of me to recharge my aura. I'm getting him out today." Carmine said as he placed his rifle on his back and walked back into his room, he opened a drawer on his dresser and grabbed a two-hole balaclava before he closed it again.

Carmine walked into his closet and picked up a black Carbon High-Cut Helmet on of the shelf on the right, he pulled an EOTech GPNVG out of a drawer and attached it to the helmet. Carmine pulled on the balaclava over his face and adjusted the eye holes before he put the helmet on and fastened the straps under his chin.

Carmine walked into the main room where the others were gathered with weapons in hand "Alright gentlemen! This mission has been upgraded to a search and rescue operation, Carmine will fill us in on the details of this search and rescue operation." Onyx said before handing the floor over to Carmine, Carmine stepped forward slowly and cleared his throat "I don't know the exact layout of the bunker but I figure we would go floor by floor until we clear it out completely, we're looking for a man by the name of Thomas Lazu, he was kidnapped from Mistral and hasn't been seen in two years. Be on the lookout for other prisoners and keep your head on a swivel, expect heavy resistance." Carmine said as he made their game plan, Titus stepped forward and looked around the room at the members of Wolf Pack and the 184th.

"Gentlemen, it has been an honor to work with you all. When we go in, we go in hard! Let's make them regret the day they fucked with us! We'll hunt them down to the end of Remnant if we have to, they will never hurt another person ever again!" Titus said as he rallied the joint operation, Onyx nudged Keppel in the arm "Would you please honor us with our warrior's prayer?" Onyx asked the sniper, the Faunus nodded as everyone took a knee and formed a circle.

"Brave warriors, should fate find us in battle, May our cause be just. May our leaders have clear vision. May our courage not falter. May we be triumphant and earn victory as we show no mercy to our enemies. May our efforts bring lasting peace. May our sacrifice be always appreciated by those we serve. May we return to our loved ones unharmed. Should we be harmed, may our wounds heal. Should we perish in the struggle, may the Gods embrace us and find for us a place in their Kingdom. Amen" Keppel said as he preached the gospel of the warrior, everyone rose from the ground slowly, their faces now plastered with determination and anger.

"Let's go, boys!" Carmine said as he placed a P226 in his side holster and led the group out of the building. Two large groups of people formed a path beside them as they walked through the marketplace toward the air docks, the silent crowd slowly turned to applauds and cheers of 'Give them hell, guys!' and 'Come back safe, boys!' emerged from the crowd of people.

Carmine stared straight forward but over heard the voice of a kid ask "Dad who are they?" Carmine looked over to see a small girl holding a blonde man's hand "Those are the Wolf Pack, Ruby. They're like huntsmen but they don't fight Grimm like huntsmen do. They do missions called contracts that pay a lot but are very dangerous" The blonde man said, Carmine grinned slightly as they walked onto the air dock where a UH1Y Venom and an Osprey were sitting.

"We'll take the Venom and the Osprey will follow, it will land nearby and wait to evacuate any prisoners." Titus said as they boarded the helicopter and the propeller slowly spun up, Grullo and Grizz manned the M134 Miniguns that were mounted on the side of the helicopter. The Venom took off into the air and flew in the direction of Forever Fall, the Osprey took off shortly after behind the Venom. "It's funny, Quinn had these audio systems built into her helicopters to help boost morale, let's have some fun, shall we." Titus said as he plugged his scroll into the aux chord that was attached to the main console.

 **Bad Company – Five Finger Death Punch**

 **A company always on the run**

 **A destiny, oh it's the rising sun**

The Venom flew over the red forest as they entered Forever Fall.

 **I was born a shotgun in my hands**

 **Behind the gun I'll make my final stand**

 **And that's why they call me**

 **Bad company**

 **I can't deny**

 **Bad bad company until the day I die**

 **Until the day I die**

 **Until the day I die**

Grullo scanned the forest floor as they flew over the thick trees, birds flew out of the tree tops and into the sky.

 **Rebel souls, deserters we've been called**

 **Chose a gun and threw away the sun**

 **Now these towns they all know our names**

 **The death punch sound is our claim to fame**

"I can't see shit!" Grizz said as he scanned the forest floor but couldn't see anything through the foliage. Titus tapped Aero on the shoulder "You're up kid." Titus said to the bowman, Aero nodded and moved over to side of the helicopter. He closed his eyes and reopened them, is hazel eyes had turned to a mint green color as he scanned the ground below "Let me guess, thermal vision." Onyx asked Titus who developed a wide grin in response. Aero pointed at the ground by a large rock face "There, it's a foot patrol that matches Phantoms description." Aero said as they lowered their altitude.

 **And that's why they call me**

 **Bad company**

 **I can't deny**

 **Bad bad company until the day I die**

 **Until the day I die**

 **Until the day I die**

 **Until the day I die**

Both door guns opened fire at the Reaper foot soldiers, the bullets ripped through their bodies and sprayed blood on the nearby trees. One after another, the convict soldiers dropped to their knees with their chest cavities blown open from the .50 BMG rounds that rained down from the Venom

 **Eye for an eye  
And a tooth for a tooth  
Blood for blood  
We've all gotta die  
We've all gotta die**

Bullets bounced off the sides of the Venom as they took fire from the forest floor below "Take us down, we need boots on the ground!" Titus yelled to the pilot, the Venom descended to the forest floor as the HMGs ripped through the foot soldiers on the ground.

 **And that's why they call me**

 **Bad company**

 **I won't deny**

 **Bad Bad company until the day I die**

 **Bad company**

 **I won't deny**

 **Bad bad company until the day I die**

 **Until the day I die**

 **Until the day I die**

 **Until the day I die**

 **Until the day I die**

The joint ops bailed out of the helicopter and took a point with their weapons aimed down range, the Venom took back off into the sky and disappeared over the tree line, dead bodies laid scattered around the area. Crimson looked at the paper he wrote down on and read the description, he looked at a cave that had moss hanging over the entrance "I think I found it." Crimson said as he moved over to the cave and ripped the moss down, a single door was at the end of the shallow cave.

Grullo moved over and stuck a C-4 charge on the door, Crimson and Grullo moved for cover before he detonated the charge. The blast shook the rock and the ground below as the door was caved in and blown into the bunker, it clattered against the wall and fell to the floor. Carmine took point and pulled down his goggles, activating the night vision as they walked into the dark room. Carmine looked around the room as he descended the staircase deeper into the bunker, he pointed his rifle down range as the green laser danced around on the wall with each step he took.

Carmine got to the bottom of the stairs and spun around to look down the dark hall with his rifle pointed down range as he took a knee, Crimson and Nightshade stacked up behind him before Crimson tapped him on the shoulder. Carmine stood up and slowly moved down the hall of the bunker, three doors lined the hall that had another stairwell at the end of the hall, Nightshade, Crimson, and Grullo kicked in the three doors and cleared the rooms. "Clear!" The three wolves called out before rejoining the raid team.

"Those were probably the rooms that belonged to those foot soldiers that gave us such a warm welcome." Crimson said as he examined the magazine in his Sig SG 550 and placed it back into his rifle, Grullo clicked the tactical light on his shoulder on and illuminated the dark room. Crimson clicked the light on the end of his rifle on, he pointed the barrel down range to illuminate the pitch-black room. Carmine raised his goggles and deactivated the night vision, he stepped back and let Grullo take point with his MG3 aimed down the stairs as he slowly descended them to the next level.

The group split into two and took the walls the led to the hall around the corner, Titus pulled out a gun that had a screen and a cord that he stretched out around the corner. The screen clicked on and displayed a thermal screen from the camera at the end of the cord, the camera slowly extended further down the hall until the seven heat signatures popped up on the screen with weapons in hand. Crimson and Grullo clicked their lights off as Carmine lowered his goggles and sat his rifle against the wall, he pulled his Ka-Bar out of its sheath and held it upside down as he slowly moved down the hall.

He crept up behind one and placed his hand over the man's mouth as he thrusted the knife into the man's throat before he dragged the body down the hall and laid it on the ground "Shh, did you hear that?" One of the men asked as he moved to investigate the noise, Carmine moved slowly around the hall as the man looked for the source of the noise. Carmine quick stepped up behind him and swiftly snapped his neck in one quick movement, he caught the body before it fell and lowered it to the ground.

Titus motioned to the others to move in, one by one the joint task force slowly moved down the hall and silently surrounded the remaining foot-soldiers, Crimson and Grullo clicked their lights on and illuminated the insurgents "Drop your weapons! Drop them!" Titus, Bubba, and Grullo yelled at the five people, the people dropped their weapons and fell to their knees with their hands raised. Aero, Grizz, and Onyx moved in to handcuff the felons with zip ties, they pushed the five down to the ground.

Titus picked one up by the collar and stared at him "How deep does this bunker go?" Titus asked as the insurgent shook with fear "Four floors deep, this is storage and floor below is the offices, the bottom floor is where all the torture, rape, and trafficking goes on." The man said as he told Titus everything he wanted to know.

Aero walked over to the man and looked at him "Why is this place so dark? Where is everyone?" Aero asked as he leaned against the wall, the man laughed to himself "Loki came running in saying that they had been compromised and that they had to move, so Diablo and Loki left with the others. They left a skeleton crew here to keep operations running but honestly, we were going to quit and leave before you guys arrived." The man said, explaining the bases darkness.

Carmine picked his rifle up and sheathed his knife as he made his way to the next stairwell, Nightshade walked over to door marked 'Electrical' and attempted to open the door but stopped when a wire became tense on the other side of the door "Hey guys, we got a door trap here." Nightshade said as he stepped away from the door, Grullo moved over to the door and pulled out a pair of wire cutters.

He slowly lined the wire up with the cutters and applied pressure quickly, the plyers cut through the wire like it was string. He pushed the door open and revealed to everyone a grenade bouquet hanging from the roof "Man, imagine if you set this off!" Grullo said as he disarmed the booby trap and placed the grenades into his bag. Nightshade walked into the room and looked at a switch on the wall labeled 'Power'. He pushed the lever up which brought the bunker back to life, lights on the roof illuminated the halls and stairwells of the bunker.

"Thanks Nightshade!" Carmine called from down the hall, Nightshade and Grullo walked out of the room to rejoin the group as they made their way to the next floor. Their heavy boots echoed as they walked down the stairs to the third floor that had four doors that led to different offices, Grullo ran forward and kicked down a door marked with a red skull with horns, Grullo flipped on the light and looked around the room that was lined with paperwork. Carmine, Crimson, and Aero walked into the room and started to go through paperwork, Aero pulled out multiple folders marked with the names of each of the eleven princes "Here they are: Diablo, Loki, Abaddon, Astaroth, Alastor, Belial, Cerberus, Leviathan, Lilith, Paimon, and Sabnock." Aero said as he started to go through each of the folders.

"Guys! Come check this out!" Onyx yelled from one of the other offices, Carmine ran out of one room and into the other that was lined with schematics and blueprints for weapons, vehicles, mechanisms of torture and death. There was a blueprint of a head case that ripped the jaw from the skull and another that slowly twisted the victim in half. Onyx pointed at the biggest one on the wall in front of them "Carmine, isn't that Operation Iron Hammer that was scrubbed by Atlas years ago?" Onyx asked, Carmine walked closer to look at it more clearly "Yeah, they deemed it too dangerous for one nation to own, it uses 800mm Artillery shells and is on tank tracks." Carmine said as he explained the Atlas weapon.

"Then why would the Grimm Reapers have the blueprints?!" Onyx asked bewildered, Titus walked in behind them "Because the same person who gave them the blueprints is the same person who gave you faulty information." Titus said as he held up a picture of a man on his scroll "Arthur Watts." Titus said as he put his scroll back into his pocket. "So, we take out Arthur and knock out their tech supply line." Onyx said but Titus shook his head "Watts dropped off the face of Remnant about three months ago." Titus said as he leaned against the wall, Onyx thought to himself "That's about when our hunt for the 'Executioners' started." Onyx said, Titus smirked "Someone's catching on." The 184th commander said before walking out of the room.

"You said Operation Iron Hammer, right?!" Aero asked from the other room, Carmine stuck his head out "Yeah!" He called into the other room, Aero ran out with a piece of paper and showed it to Carmine and Titus "This document mentions 'Iron Hammer' being moved to rally point Valentine." Aero said as they looked at the paper, Aero pointed to the top of the page "You want to find the Iron Hammer then you need to find this man, he is the weapons coordinator." Aero said as he pointed to the name 'Leviathan' on the paper.

"You boys go ahead, we'll collect all the information from these rooms." Titus said as Grizz and Aero went to work placing the rolled-up blueprints into multiple boxes, Onyx nodded before they descended to the fourth floor. Screams of agony echoed off the walls of the dark hall that reeked of death and decay, prisoners yelled for mercy while others pleaded for death. A corpse of a man was chained to a wall while rats feasted on what was left of his legs, the chewed tendons dangled from his corpse above a pool of blood that had dried up long ago.

In the next cell, small severed green and decayed limbs littered the ground while a single Grimm dog growled from within the cell "Please tell me those are animal parts." Crimson asked as he covered his mouth, Carmine let out an audible gulp "I'm afraid not." Carmine said as Crimson vomited onto the floor, Nightshade lowered and cradled his head "What… what kind of monsters would do this to children?! CHILDREN?!" Nightshade said as he struggled to keep his sanity, Grullo clicked on his flashlight and illuminated the cells that were filled with rotten corpses that had been feasted on by rodents or Grimm, Carmine slowly walked forward down the hall "We got to keep moving." Carmine said as he covered his nose and mouth, the others followed suit to get through the smell of death and decay.

As they continued down the hall that had small swarms of flies buzzing around, they came to another door and quickly entered it. They uncovered their mouths and gasped for fresh air, Crimson and Nightshade looked around the equally dark room until Onyx flipped a light on and revealed a room of horror.

Blades, hammers, drills, buzz saws, and pliers lined the wall that was stained with blood, the name 'Alastor's Funland' was written on the wall in preserved body parts. There was a window to another room that had corpses chained to wall and was filled with a strange yellow gas that hugged the floor, their skin was covered in blisters that had long since burst and coated the ground with blood and puss. "Oh gods! What the fuck?!" Crimson said as he looked away quickly.

Onyx sprinted over to the other door and kicked it open "Come on! Let's go!" Onyx yelled as he ran through the door into another dark hall with the others behind him, Grullo quickly found the lights and flipped them on but this room was equally if not more horrifying than the last. Women were chained to the wall naked and trembling in fear at the sight of the Wolf Pack, Onyx stepped forward slightly and raised his hands "Don't worry, we're going to get you out of here." Onyx said to the women who were malnourished and beaten, one woman spoke up softly "Please. Find. Sill." She pleaded before falling unconscious, Carmine looked around the room and saw a single door.

He ran up and kicked the door down off its hinges, sending it down to the floor with a thud. The body of a woman laid in the bed, blood stained bed where it had leaked from her mouth, six teeth were on the ground from where they landed after being knocked out, and blood coated the bed around her nether regions. Carmine walked over and placed two fingers on her neck, but her body was ice cold, Carmine walked out with a solemn look on his face. Onyx looked at Carmine who shook his head, effectively telling him that she didn't make it.

"She was raped and beaten to death, we need to find who is responsible for this." Carmine said as he clenched his fist, another woman struggled to speak but managed to say 'Paimon' before succumbing to fatigue. "I'm going to kill that mother fucker slowly." Crimson said as he rubbed his hands together, Onyx placed his hand Crimson's shoulder "Let's not let anger bring us down to their level." Onyx said as he calmed Crimson down. "Keppel, go see what Titus and Aero can find on Paimon." Onyx said, the sniper nodded and braced himself to run back through the gauntlet of horror. As he was about to run, Grullo stopped him "I found a ladder to the third floor over here." Grullo said as he moved a fake wall, Carmine tilted his head confused "How did you know that was fake?" Carmine asked.

Grullo knelt down and pointed an area various scratches on the ground from the door being repeatedly opened, Keppel sighed in relief "Oh thank the gods! I don't think I could handle walking through there again." Keppel said as he walked over to the ladder and climbed up it to the third floor. Keppel returned minutes later with a folder and Bubba behind him "Bubba is here to check on their vitals before we move them. Here's the file on Paimon." Keppel said, handing the folder to Carmine and Onyx.

"So Paimon is the head of Human Trafficking of the Grimm Reapers, so this is all his doing." Carmine said but he fell silent as something hit him like a freight train "These aren't just different rooms, these belong to each of the eleven princes. This is Paimon's, the other room was Alastor's." Carmine said as he looked around the room of women who were chained to the wall. He looked across the room at a lone door and made his way toward it, he broke from a jog to a dead sprint and threw his shoulder into the door. The door snapped off the hinges and slid across the ground, Carmine pushed himself off the floor and looked around the room of cells as the surroundings looked very familiar.

"Hey kid, you came back." A voice said weakly from out of the darkness, Carmine searched the wall until he found a switch and flipped it on, the lights sprung to life and illuminated the holding cells that lined the wall of the room, Carmine ran over to the farthest cell and cupped the lock in his hand. He charged a supernova in his hand and detonated the blast, destroying the lock completely. He tossed the mangled lock onto the ground and flung the cell open, he walked into the cell and dropped to his knees next to Thomas "Hey old man, it's good to see you're still in the land of the living." Carmine said as he helped Thomas sit up "Can you walk?" Carmine asked the man as he unsnapped the sides of the vest he was wearing and pulled it off along with the shirt and the bag "Here, I brought you some gear for you to wear." Carmine said as he handed the long sleeve shirt and vest to Thomas who slowly pulled them on over his malnourished body that bared the scars of the Grimm Reaper's sadist ways.

"There's a submachine gun in that bag, it's loaded and ready to go." Carmine said as he pulled Thomas to his feet, the bearded man stumbled and caught himself on Carmine's shoulder. Carmine wrapped his arm around the man and guided him out of the cell, they made their way down the hall slowly one step at a time. As they passed through the threshold that separated the two rooms, Nightshade and Crimson rushed to Carmine to take Thomas from him "Bubba, we got another one for you to look at." Crimson said as they carried him over to a table.

"Alright, I'm going to go find my gear." Carmine said before he walked back into the room of cells, he scanned the walls until his eyes fell upon a lone door off to the right, he approached the door and pushed it open. He walked down the hall slowly as he scanned the walls, the familiar memories still fresh in his head as he approached yet another door to his left. He kicked the door open and revealed an interrogation room with a metal table and two chairs in the middle of the room.

He walked into the room and turned around to face the doorway, he looked up at the mirror that was above the door. Carmine pushed the table underneath the mirror and climbed onto the tabletop with a chair that he stood on, so he was at eye level with the mirror. He made a fist and charged a supernova, after a few seconds he threw his fist at the mirror. The supernova detonated and shattered the mirror completely, the broken pieces crashed to the ground as Carmine pulled himself up into the broken two-way mirror, the broken shards sliced into his hands as his boots crushed the shattered shards beneath his feet.

He looked around the observation room and found his gear on a table in the corner of the room, he walked over and picked up his hoodie off the table, he pulled the hooded jacket on and zipped up the front before he picked up his Heavy IBA and placed it on over his body. He clipped the sides and tightened them before he checked his pouches on the front and sides "Everything is here, they may be murders but at least they have respect for personal property." Carmine said to himself as he picked up his backpack and put his arms through the straps.

He picked up his scroll off the table and opened it up, there was a new notification from Sapphire that he opened to read 'Hey babe, I miss you so much! They're treating me like I was royalty here at Beacon, I can't wait to be in your arms again.' Carmine smiled as he finished reading her message before he closed his scroll and placed it in his pocket. He picked up his facemask off the table and clipped it onto his tactical belt, he walked over to the door and jiggled the handle but found it jammed.

He reached into his bag and pulled out a pair of gloves "Oh how I have missed you." Carmine said as he pulled them on and tightened them around his wrist, he punched his fists together and sent out an audible clang. He clinched his right fist and charged a supernova, he stepped back a few steps before he ran forward and threw his fist into the door, the supernova detonated on impact and blew the door off the hinges.

Carmine slowly walked out of the room with a strut but found the barrel of an M4 in his face, Titus lowered his rifle "Good gods Carmine, I thought you were one of the Reapers." Titus said as he patted the rifleman on the back as they walked into the middle of the room surrounded by offices.

Aero walked out of the one the offices on high alert "I heard an explosion, what's going on?" Aero asked confused, Carmine chuckled "I used my semblance as a door breach since that door was locked." Carmine said, pointing at the destroyed door on the ground. "So, have you found anything about where we can find Paimon or Leviathan?" Carmine asked as he and Aero walked back into the room lined with some blueprints.

"Well, fortunately for us they left their computers here so for the past fifty minutes I've been going through the information. Apparently Paimon is meeting with someone in the red-light district of Vale about moving 'merchandise' into Vale. I say you guys scout the area and nab him before he can escape, then we'll bring him back to a secure facility and force the information out of him." Aero said as he explained the plan to Carmine, Carmine nodded "Good, I like it. I'll get in touch with my contact out that way." Carmine said before he descended the ladder to the fourth floor.

Carmine slid down the ladder and walked out into the room, the women were no longer handcuffed to the wall and were being treated for their injuries. Grizz tossed down his bag to the fourth floor and it landed with a loud thud "I always carry MREs on me, get those women fed boys." Grizz yelled from up on the third floor, Crimson and Grullo went to work preparing the food for the starved prisoners.

Carmine knelt-down in front of the room and scanned the trembling women "Don't worry, we're going to get you back home to your families and we'll see to it that Paimon's body is tossed into a ditch." Carmine said as Keppel walked over with blankets for the victims of Paimon.

Onyx grabbed Carmine by the arm and pulled him to the side "Did Aero find anything?" Onyx asked in a hushed tone, Carmine pulled out his Scroll and displayed a map of Vale "He said that Paimon was meeting someone in the red-light district of Vale, so I was going to get in contact with Junior to see if he knows anything." Carmine said as he closed his Scroll, Onyx looked over his shoulder at the women who were being fed by Crimson and Grullo "You know what you have to do right?" Onyx asked his younger brother, Carmine nodded his head "Break every bone in that fuckers' body." Carmine said as he cracked his knuckles.

Carmine moved away from his brother and over to Thomas who was sitting in the corner "Hey old man, how are you feeling?" Carmine asked the bearded man, Thomas chuckled lightly as he leaned back against the wall "Well son, I feel a thousand times better now that I'm out of that cell. They were going to make this our tomb if you boys didn't show up when you did." Thomas said with a toothy grin, Carmine sat down next to the man and crossed his legs.

"We saw so much shit when we got to the fourth floor, it was like a house of horrors. We don't know who the first room belonged to but there was so much death, children." Carmine said as he started to break down, tears leaked from his eyes as he fought back his emotions. Thomas sat up and rested his hand on Carmine's shoulder "There in a better place now, know that. As for who it belonged to, that would be Sabnock's work. He's the one I had been chasing when I was kidnapped and thrown into that cell." Thomas explained, Carmine's sadness quickly changed from sadness to anger as his body filled with rage.

Carmine stood up and walked back over to the ladder, he quickly climbed up and entered the third floor where Aero was moving documents.

"I need you to find information on Sabnock." Carmine said as the bowman was flipping through papers, he nodded as he opened the database again "Thank the gods that they never unlinked their scrolls from the database, it makes finding them easier." Aero said as he pulled up Sabnock's info on the holo-screen: **NAME: Gundy Lilo. AGE: 31. ALIAS: Sabnock. SEMBLANCE: Novocain (Numbing Touch) ROLE: Gatherer. CURRENT MISSION: Scope out orphanage in Vale.**

"Who put this information together like this?" Carmine asked as he looked over the information, Aero chuckled "It's funny, Diablo did. But now I'll transfer the information to our scrolls, so we can hunt them all down." Aero said as he finished transferring the information to his scroll. He broadcasted the information to everyone's scroll, Carmine's scroll beeped as it downloaded the information.

"How about Cerberus, what does his profile look like?" Carmine asked the bowman, he chuckled "Oh that's a good one, yeah he's the one who sent the Grimm after us." Aero said as he pulled up a profile on the holo-screen labeled 'Cerberus'. **NAME: Charlie Gole. AGE: 35. ALIAS: Cerberus. SEMBLANCE: Grimm Command (Note: Not sure what causes it, must investigate further) ROLE: Tactician. CURRENT MISSION: Ambush Wolf Pack/184** **th** **near Mountain Glenn.** "So, they did flee the base, I assume after Opal got here and warned of our advance." Carmine said as he looked the information.

"Here, look at this." Aero said as he pulled up a map of Remnant with eight dots on the map: two in Vale, two is Mistral, two in Vacuo, and two in Atlas. "You know what those are?" Aero asked the rifleman, Carmine shook his head "I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that they are probably other bases of theirs." Carmine said unsure, Aero nodded his head "That is exactly what they are." Aero said as he accessed each point.

As they talked to each other, Titus walked up behind them "If we want to take them all out then we'll need the others. It'll be a giant joint operation, Operation Reaper Killer. Yeah, that sounds nice." Titus said as he stared at the screen, Carmine thought for a moment "Maybe we get Atlas involved?" Carmine asked but Titus shook his head "They have Watts, so we can't risk the chance of tipping them off." Titus said as he leaned against a counter by the wall.

"I contacted other members of the 184th and they should be here shortly to help extract these poor souls." Titus said, Carmine looked at the ground in thought "There's more to this base, I can feel it. Something resonating in my bones." Carmine said as he looked at the floor, Aero chuckled "Well you're not wrong, here is the full layout." Aero said as he transferred a file to Carmine's scroll.

The scroll clicked on and downloaded the layout to a four-tier bunker with labeled sections "Thank you, Diablo." Carmine said as he accessed the map before he attached the scroll to his wrist on his left arm. Carmine pulled off his helmet and balaclava, he placed them on the table before he unhooked his filtered face mask that was clipped to his waist.

He pulled the mask over his head and tightened the straps in the back, he adjusted the face mask before he pulled his hood up over his head. "Good luck, report back what you find." Titus said as Carmine made his way back to the ladder and quickly descended to the fourth floor. Onyx, Keppel, and Nightshade looked at the rifleman who was clad in his usual apparel as he made his way to the next room but turned around at the doorway "I'm going to go clear out the remaining rooms, I'll keep in contact." Carmine said as he picked up his rifle that was leaning against the wall.

Carmine walked through the room with his rifle raised so he could see the map on his wrist as he walked through the room of cells, Carmine took a left down another corridor until he approached a door at the end of the hall. He twisted the handle and pushed the door open slowly, he clicked the tactical light on his shoulder and the end of his rifle on, both lights illuminated the dark room with ease.

Carmine stopped when he saw two red eyes staring at him from the darkness, Carmine shined the light on the eyes and revealed a caged Grimm that was snarling. Carmine flipped the light on in the room and illuminated the entire room, the room was covered in posters and documents about Grimm biology, Carmine walked over to a counter and found a computer terminal that was unlocked.

Carmine accessed the terminal and found that it contained video logs from Cerberus, Carmine accessed the logs as he turned his flashlights off.

The video started as it shown an index card labeled 'Grimm trial test 1', a man in a white lab coat walked in front of the camera and cleared his throat "I am Doctor Charles Gole, this is Grimm test 1. How do Grimm react when in the presence of a child?" Charles said before he moved from in front of the camera, there was a child strapped to a chair and a snarling Beowolf chained to the wall. The child was crying as he trembled in fear, Gole unhooked the chain and unleashed the Beowolf, the Grimm rushed forward and grabbed the child by the throat. The Grimm quickly ripped into the child's jugular and silenced the crying quickly, Gole pulled out a shotgun and shot the Beowolf in the head. "Test 1 complete, this is my constant variable." Gole said before the video ended.

The next started as it shown an index card labeled 'Grimm trial test 2' Charles stood in front of the camera again "This is Doctor Charles Gole, and this is Grimm test 2. How do Grimm react to a sedated person, a person who is high?" Charles said before he walked over to a man strapped to a chair and injected a needle into the man's arm "I am injecting him with 30 mg of Black Tar Heroin to sedate the man and make him feel euphoric." Charles said as he pulled the needle out the man's arm. The man's eyes closed as he stopped struggling and slipped into euphoria, Gole unlatched a lock on a cage with a Creep inside. The cage door opened, and the Creep walked out slowly, the Grimm sniffed the man slowly as it walked around the man "So far so good." Charles said as he watched the Grimm, the Creep stepped back slowly from the man but ran and lunged at the man. It sunk its teeth deep into the man's chest and ripped deep into his flesh. Charles shot the Grimm with the shotgun and killed it quickly, he walked back in front of the camera again "Test 2; failure." Gole said before he shut the camera off.

Carmine filled with anger as he read the video titles 'Test 11' 'Test 27' 'Test 35', he shook his head as he stepped away from the terminal "What the fuck!" Carmine said with anger in his voice, the caged Grimm started to snarl more violently as it stared at Carmine, the rifleman picked up his Scar and shot the Grimm repeatedly in the head.

He typed into his scroll that was on his arm 'Cerberus was a Doctor and used live test subjects, he has a terminal in his room.' He sent the message to Aero before he left the room. Carmine walked back into the middle of the room and took a left down the hall that housed his holding cell, he walked down the corridor until he came to another door. He pulled it open and revealed a large room with multiple other doors, he approached one the other doors and kicked it open.

He walked into the room and flipped the light on immediately, he looked around the room but was almost sickened by the pictures on the wall of brutal murders by power saws, hammers, and a head mount that ripped someone's jaw from their skull to name a few. There were a few monitors on the wall that replayed other murders repeatedly, there was a recliner chair and a box of tissues in the middle of the room "This sick son of a bitch got off to this shit?!" Carmine said to himself before he raised his rifle and unloaded into the monitors, the bullets ripped into wall and destroyed the screens.

The sound of screams and cries of agony echoed throughout the main room, Carmine walked out into the main corridor and realized the noises were coming from three other rooms. Carmine dug into his bag and pulled out three quarter blocks of Semtex, he stuck them to the doors and routed the wires to one detonator. He rushed back into the first room and clicked the button; the charges detonated and blew the doors into the holding rooms. He ran into the first room and found a woman chained to the wall with rivets in her hands and her feet, she had tears flowing down her cheeks as she looked at Carmine "Please help me!" She begged before she passed out from the pain.

Carmine walked out of the room and pressed his throat comms "Guys, I need some help over here. We got more survivors but this; this is something beyond my expertise." Carmine said, within minutes Onyx, Keppel, and Titus ran into the corridor where Carmine was standing.

"In there, I don't know how she held out so long." Carmine said as Onyx and Titus walked into the room, Titus walked out after a minute "I messaged Aero to bring a thermite torch along with Bubba." Titus said as the two men ran into the room, they all walked back into the torture room. Onyx push her hand toward the wall to expose the rivet head for Aero to cut off.

Aero turned the thermite torch on to the lowest setting, it spit out a small flame that he used to cut the rivet head off, the head dropped to the ground with a 'tink' as they moved on to the next one. One after another, they cut all the bolt heads off and pulled her limbs off the bolts; they laid her on the ground and let Bubba get to work on healing her body.

"So, whose playground is this?" Carmine asked Aero who stood with his arms crossed, he shook his head "This is Belial's handy work." Aero said, Carmine exhaled a sigh of relief that Belial was already dead.

The wounds on her body slowly closed as her body started to glow pink, Bubba and Onyx helped her slowly sit up against the wall "Don't worry, you're safe now." Onyx said as she rested her head against the wall, Carmine gestured Titus and Aero out to the main room.

"What's up?" Aero asked as they stood in the middle of the room, Carmine pointed to the other three rooms "We got others to help, we don't know their condition." Carmine said as they made their way to another door, he took a few steps back and ran toward the door, throwing all his weight into the door and snapping it off of its hinges. The door slammed into the ground with a loud thud, Carmine pushed himself up off the floor and looked around the room, Carmine clicked his light on and illuminated the room but stumbled back slightly. "What is it? Oh, my gods!" Titus yelled before he ran out of the room and emptied his lunch onto the floor.

A woman was chained to the wall with her flesh fileted from her body and nailed to the wall beside her spelling 'Belial' in flesh. Her eyes had been ripped from her head and her mouth was sewn shut in a cross-stitch pattern. "That son of a bitch! I'm glad Crimson shot him in the head but now it feels like he got off easily." Aero said as he started to cut the chains from her body, Titus shook his head "There is no way she survived." He said as he placed two fingers against her neck, the woman started to thrash violently and startled everyone

"OH FUCK!" Carmine yelled as he dashed out of the room, Onyx ran out with Bubba in tow "Woah! Where's the fire?" Onyx asked as Carmine ran but he only said one word.

"Zombie!" Carmine yelled as he bounded the corner, Bubba ran into the room with Titus who was holding the woman's arm down "Bubba! Morphine!" Titus yelled to which Bubba nodded and pulled a syringe from the pouch on his chest, he ripped the cap off with his teeth and pushed the needle into the woman's exposed flesh and squeezed the plunger. The woman's thrashing slowly stopped as her pain subsided, meanwhile other members of the 184th rounded the corner carrying a stretcher escorted by Carmine.

"So that's where you went! I thought you might have finally broken mentally." Onyx said as Carmine directed the new medic teams, another team was hard a work with a plasma grinder cutting the other door open. The grinded lock fell from the cell door and hit the ground with a clang as they pushed the door open, Carmine turned his attention back to the woman who was butchered beyond all belief that Bubba was working on.

"She's going to need multiple skin grafts to fix this, I'm surprised she survived this long." Onyx said as he crossed his arms, Aero walked back around the corner and looked at the brothers "I got good news, my scroll was running a search for Abaddon. Well, it found him; he's on a train heading to Vega from Vale. I also hear that Adam Taurus might be onboard, so you can kill two birds with one bullet." Aero said as he transferred the info to Carmine's scroll.

"Good, I can't wait for this! I'll take the team while you boys lock this place down and clear the rest of the rooms." Carmine said as he messaged the other Wolves about their new objective, Titus walked up with his scroll opened fully with six live video feeds coming through on the screen "Already on it! Alpha, Bravo, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, and Gamma are already moving through the bunker as we speak." Titus said as the screens showed the teams kicking down doors and clearing rooms.

"You boys should go, you got a train to catch!" Titus said, sending the Wolves off on their hunt, their prey? Abaddon, the head on intelligence for the Grimm Reapers.

 **A/N: Thank you for reading! I hope you liked this chapter of Wolf Pack, remember to leave a review! Your feedback helps me get better and improve my writing skills. Check out a collaboration I'm doing with TheBurningRuler and RebelKira called "Team BAWM" Anyway, thanks for reading and as always, this is Nightmare 6-4, Signing Off!**


	7. Chapter 7: Crazy Train

Ch.7 – Crazy Train

 **I do not own RWBY, RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum (R.I.P.) nor do I own any media that may appear in the story. I only own the OCs, Enjoy! Remember to Favorite, Follow, and leave a Review.**

Carmine walked out of the prison and ascended the stairwell with the others following behind him "What's the game plan, Onyx?" Carmine asked as they walked down the corridor, multiple armed mercenaries ran past them and descended the stairwell.

"We'll take the Venom and cut off the train, the pilot will hold altitude and we'll board the train. We go through and find Abaddon, if we see Adam Taurus, we shoot on sight." Onyx said as they stepped out into the cave, there were more mercenaries that stood guard outside of the cave. As they walked out, the Venom landed in the clearing that had two smoke grenades that spat out blue smoke.

The Wolves lowered their head as they ran and boarded the helicopter, the Venom took off into the sky and away from the bunker of horror. Grullo and Nightshade manned the side guns, the mounted guns swayed left to right as they scanned the sky for Grimm. As they flew toward Vale, two Ospreys flew by and banked right toward the local hospitals "Those poor souls." Keppel said as he shook his head.

"Up high!" Grullo yelled as he fired into the sky, a large Nevermore swooped by as Grullo fired at it. 50 Caliber bullets ripped through its wings as it flew up to the other side and received hellfire from the other gun. The Nevermore fell from the sky and exploded into black smoke in midair, Grullo laughed "Don't relax now Nightshade, where there's smoke, there's fire." Grullo said as another Nevermore swooped down from within the clouds.

Another shot up on the right side, gunfire shot out of both sides as they flew across the sky with the Nevermore's in chase. The Nevermore skimmed by the side of the helicopter and caught multiple rounds in the side, the Nevermore was split in half by the steady stream of gunfire as the other Nevermore attempted to ram the helicopter but Grullo slowed it down with his semblance and dumped round after round into the head of the flying Grimm.

The Grimm's lifeless body fell back down toward the ground "That should do it, boys. Smooth flying from here on." Onyx said. The helicopter flew over the city as it started to follow the rail line, the helicopter flew around the bend as train sped down the tracks.

"Alright boys! Show time!" Onyx said as the helicopter got closer to the train, armed insurgents climbed up to the roof and began firing at the helicopter, Grullo fired back and killed two while ripping the limbs off two others. One insurgent ran to a flatbed train car and pulled the tarp off of a ZU-23-2, the insurgent got into the seat and rotated the axis upward before it started to fire into the air. The 23mm rounds exploded in the air as the helicopter got closer.

Carmine fished a hand grenade from his bag and ripped the pin from the grenade, he counted two seconds before he threw the grenade at the flak turret. The grenade bounced onto the metal train car and exploded, the blast blew the turret up and engulfed the gunner in burning metal and gunpowder. "Alright, remember! Keep your head low, gun up, and your knife on the ready. Alright, here we go!" Onyx said as the helicopter descended more.

Two ropes were lowered from either side of the helicopter as they approached the first train car "Grullo! Nightshade! Go!" Onyx yelled, the gunner and the breacher quickly repelled down the rope onto the train car, Grullo kicked open the door and ran in with his gun blazing.

"Stop number two! Carmine! Crimson! Go!" Onyx said as Carmine grabbed the rope and quickly slid down to the roof of the train, the helicopter flew five cars ahead before Onyx and Keppel descended to their train cars.

"Get the lead out!" Crimson yelled as he kicked in the door, Carmine ran in behind him with his Scar raised. Two insurgents ran out with machetes, but Crimson drew his Ka-Bar and slit one's throat and thrusted the blade into the other's gut. Crimson pulled the knife out and sheathed it again "Hey, look at this." Crimson said as he pulled the lid off a crate, the crate was filled with giant uncut dust crystals.

"I think these are all over this train car." Crimson said as he pointed toward the other crates. Suddenly, three White Fang insurgents ran in with rifles in hand. Carmine shook his head "Alright! Let's go!" Carmine yelled before he ran toward the insurgents, Carmine raised his SCAR and popped one in the head, the insurgent dropped to the ground like a sack of rocks as the others fired at the two mercenaries.

"Woah! Woah! Woah! Stop! Are you trying to kill us all?!" Crimson yelled which caused the gunfire to stop, the insurgents looked at each other and put their weapons away as Carmine and Crimson did the same.

"There, that's better." Crimson said as the two insurgents charged at the duo, Carmine blocked hit after hit while Crimson let the insurgent work his body. Carmine countered the insurgent and threw a 1-6-3-2 combo (Jab, RIGHT UPPERCUT, left hook, right cross), he followed it with a roundhouse and a flying knee strike to the jaw. Crimson smiled at the insurgent who was now breathing heavily "You get that out of your system?" He asked sarcastically as he balled his fist up and punched the insurgent in the chest.

The punch sent the insurgent flying into the wall, the force of impact bent the metal wall outward. Just then, an explosion rocked the train as Grullo and Nightshade ran into the train car that Carmine and Crimson were standing in. "Oh fuck! Oh fuck! Oh fuck!" Nightshade yelled, Carmine looked back as five Atlesian Knight – 130s chased them from the other train car.

"No down time today." Carmine said as he pulled out his Ka-Bar and charged at the Atlesian Knight, he charged a Supernova in his fist and drove it into the robot's chest which caused it to explode. Crimson ran up to one and put the barrel of his rifle into its chest and pulled the trigger, the bullets ripped through the metal and its circuits.

Grullo kicked one in the chest and swept its legs out from under it, he took the advantage and stomped down on its chest. He stomped down on its neck and severed the circuitry, Nightshade pulled out his FAL and unloaded on the Atlesian Knight's head. He slammed the buttstock into the Atlesian Knight's chest and dropped it to the ground where it laid dead.

"Great, you two move ahead. We'll secure this part." Nightshade said to Carmine and Crimson, Carmine nodded before he led Crimson into the next train car. As he walked in, he saw a familiar silhouette and red hair of a man "Taurus!" Carmine yelled, the masked man turned around and looked at the pair "Sable." Adam said in disgust as he drew his sword, Carmine dashed forward with his rifle raised and fired at the swordsman.

Adam blocked the shots with his sword and his aura, Crimson raised his Sig 550 and joined in the barrage of gunfire. Carmine pulled a red grenade from the pouch on his side and pulled the pin out before he threw it at the swordsman. Carmine pulled out his scroll quickly and examined his team's aura levels as he was behind cover 'Alright, we're good for now.' Carmine thought to himself.

Carmine shot up and fired at Adam again, a few shots landed as his aura started to pulsate "We got you now!" Carmine said as he pulled out his PP-19 and dumped the tube mag at the swordsman, his aura shattered as Carmine got closer. Taurus blew open a hatch on the roof and leaped up onto the roof, Crimson ran over to the hatch and put his hands together "Let's go! Get him!" Crimson yelled before Carmine ran forward and placed his foot into Crimson's hand, the infantryman tossed him up as he grabbed the ledge and pulled himself upward.

A woman with black hair and a black bow stood on the roof of another train car while Adam ran toward the main engine "Sorry honey but I'm going to need to get by you." Carmine said, she shook her head "I can't let you do that." The woman said as he pulled out a pistol/sword combo, Carmine sighed as he reloaded his SCAR and pulled back the bolt on the side. The rifleman charged at the woman and fired at her, but she blocked the shots, a black ribbon wrapped around Carmine's leg and swept him off his feet but he quickly leaped back to his feet.

She swung at Carmine, but he used his aura to block the strike, he clenched his fist and charged a Supernova. He threw his fist into the woman, but she quickly dissipated, she was standing at the edge of the train as Carmine stood back up right.

Carmine's ear piece clicked on as Onyx came through "Yo Carmine! We found Abaddon hiding in a box. Ha. Get down here when you find Taurus." Onyx said, Carmine clicked his throat comms "Alright, I'm kind of busy dealing with his girlfriend." Carmine said, the ear piece clicked on "Get her, Carmine. Choke a bitch out if you got to." Onyx said as the sound of muffled screaming could be heard in the background.

Carmine raised his rifle again and switched to full auto, he squeezed the trigger and dumped the magazine at the woman who deflected the rounds and used black silhouette to absorb the other rounds. She charged at Carmine and swung downward, but he blocked her blade with his SCAR, he pushed her back, but she sliced down again and cut his SCAR in half. He stood their holding the two pieces of his rifle in disbelief.

"You fucking bitch. Now you go down it." Carmine said as he threw the two halves down and clenched his fists together as he charged both hands. Carmine heard music coming through his earpiece "Kick her ass, little bro!" Onyx said as Dragula by Rob Zombie played through his earpiece.

 **Superstition, fear, and jealousy**

Carmine sprinted forward and threw a right hook followed by a left uppercut, but she leaped out of the way and switched her sword into a pistol and fired at Carmine. Carmine dodged the shots and closed the gap between them, he followed the right hook with a right palm strike but missed.

 **Dead I am the one, exterminating son**

 **Slipping through the trees, strangling the breeze**

 **Dead I am the sky, watching angels cry**

 **While they slowly turn, conquering the worm**

"Your armor is very inhibiting of your movement." The woman said as he raised his fists again, Carmine clocked her in the chin with a Bolo Punch, the supernova exploded when his fist connected and sent her flying, but she wrapped the ribbon around his ankle and took him with her. She stabbed her sword into the train car and stopped herself.

 **Dig through the ditches**

 **And burn through the witches**

 **I slam in the back of my Dragula.**

 **Dig through the ditches**

 **And burn through the witches**

 **I slam in the back of my Dragula.**

"I have had it up to here with this bullshit!" Carmine yelled as he pulled his Ka-Bar out and held it upside down. The woman ran towards him sliced sideways as he sliced upward, she cut through his IBA and Hoodie, he sliced through her shirt. Both of their auras started to pulsate as he stood across from each other. The side straps of his IBA snapped from being cut as he stood across from her, he pulled the IBA off and tossed it behind him. As the second verse started, Carmine started singing it out loud in a sort of enticing manner.

 **Dead I am the pool, spreading from the fool**

 **Weak and want you need, nowhere as you bleed**

 **Dead I am the rat, feast upon the cat**

 **Tender is the fur, dying as you purr**

The woman seemed to get angry at his singing as she dashed forward, Carmine grinned and threw another roundhouse that connected to her side. She winced in pain as her aura shattered, she sliced back upward and depleted Carmine's aura.

 **Dig through the ditches**

 **And burn through the witches**

 **I slam in the back of my Dragula.**

 **Dig through the ditches**

 **And burn through the witches**

 **I slam in the back of my Dragula.**

"Well, looks like we did a number on each other, huh?" Carmine said panting, she stood up and stared at him as she held her blade upside down. Carmine spun his knife around again as he readied himself one more time.

 **Dead I am the life, dig into the skin**

 **Knuckle crack the bone, 21 to win.**

 **Dead I am the dog, hound of hell, you cry**

 **Devil on your back, I can never die.**

They both ran toward each other at full speed and sliced into each other, they passed each other and stopped in their tracks. A cut appeared on her upper arm while a large slice appeared on Carmine's side that gushed with blood, Carmine dropped to his knees before he collapsed onto the metal roof. Adam leaped back onto the roof of the train car and put his sword to Carmine's neck but the woman stopped him "Adam, no! He fought well but he doesn't need to die today." The woman said, Adam scoffed "He tried to kill you." Adam said but the woman pushed him back and stood in front of Carmine "I won't let you." The woman said, Adam scoffed and sheathed his sword.

"Come on, they're waiting." Adam said before the two leaped off of the moving train, the front train engine exploded and left the train cars to slow to a stop. Crimson climbed up to the roof and found Carmine lying face down in pool of his own blood "Shit! Carmine is down!" Crimson said as he ran over to the rifleman.

 ***Four Hours Later***

Carmine slowly opened his eyes and found himself in a hospital bed "Oh fuck, what happened?" Carmine asked as he sat up slightly but stopped when a sharp pain shot through his body, he moved the sheet and saw a bandage wrap on his side. "Morning sunshine." Onyx said as he walked into the room, Crimson and Keppel followed in behind him and leaned against the wall.

"What happened? Where am I?" Carmine asked slowly, Onyx sat down in a chair next to the bed "You're in the hospital, seems like that chick fucked your shit up." Onyx said, Carmine chuckled lightly but winced in pain. "Yeah, it might be like that for a bit. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your rifle was destroyed but now I can introduce you to Mindaro and he can create a new rifle for you." Onyx said, Carmine nodded as he felt for his scroll, but Crimson tossed it to him.

Carmine caught it and slid it open, he saw he had a new message from Sapphire and tapped it open. 'Hey Babe, I heard what happened from Crimson. I hope you're okay, come back to me whenever you can. I Love You, Baby.' Carmine smiled as he finished reading her text message, Carmine messaged her back 'Hey Sapph, I'm doing alright. My boys got me to the hospital so I'm going to recover. I'll be there to pick you up eventually.' Carmine wrote before he sent it to his girlfriend.

He closed his scroll but opened it after he got an immediate response 'You have never called me Sapph, why did you call me Sapph? Who are you?!' Sapphire texted back, Carmine chuckled to himself as he replied 'I was just playing, babe. I love you.' Carmine replied, he got an immediate reply of 'Lol, I know sweetheart.' He rolled his eyes as he closed his scroll.

"Alright, Mr. Sable. You're recovering well, you didn't lose a lot of blood because of your team. You'll be out of here in a few hours." The doctor said as he walked into the room. "Mind lifting the sheet." The doctor asked, Carmine moved the sheet so the doctor could examine the wound. The doctor peeled the bandage back, but saw that wound was gone and all that was left was a slash scar.

"Wow, that's a nice scar you got there." Crimson said looking over the doctor's shoulder, Carmine rolled his eyes as the doctor stood up straight "Alright, well. Looks like everything is in order. When you feel ready, you may leave." The doctor said, Onyx tossed him his pants and a new shirt.

Carmine climbed out of bed and pulled on a fresh pair of black jeans and a fresh black t-shirt "Hey, where's Abaddon?" Carmine asked, Onyx chuckled "Grullo's working him over back at HQ, in the basement." Onyx said, Carmine laughed to himself "That poor bastard. Well, let's go check on his work." Carmine said as he pulled on his boots.

As they walked out of the hospital, the Gurkha pulled up out front "Really, the Gurkha?! We're leaving the hospital, not seizing a compound." Carmine said as he shook his head, Onyx looked at him "How do you know that's not what we're doing?" Onyx asked sarcastically, Carmine sighed as he climbed into the tank of a truck. Nightshade sat in the driver's seat as Carmine climbed into the passenger while Onyx, Crimson, and Keppel got into the back.

The Gurkha took off slowly as it drove through the somewhat busy street, people pointed and stared at the behemoth that rolled down the street. The engine rumbled loudly as it as they pulled up to red light, the Gurkha turned right and drove down the road until it turned right onto a dirt road. The Gurkha opened the pistons up and sped down the dirt road until it came up to a concrete wall, Nightshade pressed a button that caused the wall to separate and open.

The Gurkha pulled into a lot and back in behind the building "You know, I forget that we have a back road to the HQ." Carmine said as he got out of the Gurkha. They followed Onyx inside and down a flight of stairs to a lone room, Grullo stood by a table while he wrapped his fist in cloth and a man sat in a chair in the middle of the room with a bag over his head.

"Hello Abaddon, do you know who we are?" Onyx asked, Abaddon looked around the room "Are you the pizza guy?" Abaddon asked, Grullo walked over and decked him in the jaw. "Abaddon, we want to know where Paimon and Sabnock are. Just tell us that." Onyx said, Abaddon sighed "Alright, here's what you do. Go down to the drug store, ask the clerk for some Viagra to help you go fuck yourself." Abaddon said laughing, Grullo punched him in the jaw again. Crimson wheeled over a cart and pulled a sheet off it, he handed Grullo a pair of brass knuckles "Abaddon, as soon as you tell me what I want to know is when the pain will stop." Onyx said, Abaddon laughed "I'll never tell you shit." Abaddon said with a cackle.

Onyx sighed "I know." Onyx said as he sliced off one of his fingers, Abaddon screamed in pain before he started laughing again "That ain't shit." Abaddon said, Onyx grimaced in anger. Keppel looked at him "I think you're going to have to do your thing." Keppel said, Onyx nodded. Crimson put his hand on the Onyx's shoulder "Don't worry, we'll be here, and we'll help you through it." Crimson said.

Onyx nodded his head as he paced back and forth around the room, he silently hyped himself up as he walked back closer to Abaddon "Alright, remove it." Onyx said, Grullo ripped the hood off Abaddon as Onyx grabbed the sides of his head and stared into his eyes. Onyx's eyes started to glow red and pulsate as Abaddon's body went limp.

 ***Inside Abaddon's Head (This is going to get graphic.) ***

Onyx fell into a dark pit that seemed to go on forever, the smell of sulfur filled his nose as he landed on the ground. The ground squished beneath him as he stood up, he looked at his hands and saw they were covered with blood and bile.

The sound of screams and cried for help echoed throughout the dark void that was lined with human epidermis and cerebrum, the bodies of children were nail to the wall with bone. Seventeen guillotines dropped at the same time and decapitated seventeen people at the same time, Onyx shook his head as the images disappeared and left him alone in a room with a file cabinet. Onyx pulled the file cabinet open and pulled out a file labeled 'Plans', he pulled it out and opened it up but only found images of dead people and people being tortured.

Onyx dug through the file cabinet until he there was nothing left, suddenly the file cabinet disappeared and was replaced by Abaddon himself who held a meat cleaver "You know how many people I've killed with this?" Abaddon asked before he licked the blade, Onyx gritted his teeth "Thousands." Onyx said as he pulled out two katanas, Abaddon pulled out a second cleaver and clanged them together.

Onyx dashed forward and sliced at the man who dodged and parried the slices, Abaddon hacked at him, but Onyx thrusted the blades into Abaddon's gut and sliced outward before he sliced the man's arms off. He pushed the man backward and put the blade to his neck "Locations, now." Onyx said, Abaddon struggled to breathe but managed to say a couple words "Warehouse in industrial district, red brick wall with one brick painted yellow for Sabnock. Mai's Bar in the red-light district for Paimon." Abaddon said as he coughed up blood.

Onyx closed his eyes tightly.

 ***Back in reality***

Onyx opened his eyes and backed up rapidly, Crimson pulled out his pistol and shot Abaddon in the head quickly. Keppel patted him on the shoulder as he held him close, Abaddon's body fell limp as blood dripped onto the floor. Grullo unshackled the body and lifted it up as Nightshade laid a body bag out on the floor, Grullo placed Abaddon in the bag and zipped it up. "We got our targets, call Titus and tell him to regroup here." Onyx said before he passed out, Carmine and Crimson picked Onyx up and carried him upstairs, they placed him on the couch and covered him a blanket.

Carmine pulled out his scroll and called Titus, the scroll ringed for a moment before someone answered, "Regroup at the Wolves Den when you get everything secured." Carmine said before he ended the call and closed his scroll.

Grullo and Nightshade carried Abaddon's corpse out of basement and carried him out the back door, Carmine followed them out the back door and picked up a shovel that was leaned against the wall. They reopened the concrete gate and walked out to the open field, Carmine walked ahead and started to dig a hole in the ground. After fifteen minutes, Carmine had dug a seven-foot-deep hole in the ground, Carmine grabbed Grullo's hand and climbed out of the hole in the ground.

Grullo and Nightshade tossed the corpse into the ground, Grullo pulled out a bottle of fire dust powder and dumped it on the corpse. He struck a dust match and dropped it on the body, the corpse was engulfed in flames and burned slowly in the hole. Nightshade grabbed the shovel and started to fill the hole back in, Carmine turned around and started to walk back to the HQ. "Good riddance." Nightshade said as he followed Carmine.

The trio walked back into the HQ as Onyx was waking back up "Morning sleeping beauty." Crimson said as he sat in the recliner, Onyx shook his head "Shut up, asshole." Onyx said as he rubbed his head. Carmine tossed him a can of Green Bull, Onyx popped the top and hammered it back as he stood up.

As they stood around, the sound of someone knocking on the front door. Crimson walked over to the front and opened it, he guided Titus, Aero, Grizz, and Bubba into the Wolves' Den. Onyx and Titus shook hands tightly as the others formed a circle in the room with Keppel and Crimson joining afterward.

"So, what's the plan, Onyx?" Titus asked as he shifted his weight to his left leg, Onyx guided the group to the planning room and stood in the front of the room as everyone took a seat at the crescent shape table. Carmine pulled up a map of Vale and projected it onto the wall "Gentlemen! We have our targets, the lower-class side of the residential district in the red-light district, a place called Mai's Bar. This is where we'll find Paimon." Onyx said as he projected the image of a run-down bar with a flickering red neon sign.

He projected the image of a giant red brick warehouse with a yellow brick in the middle of the red wall "This is where we'll find Sabnock, he is scoping out an orphanage and we'll find him in this warehouse." Onyx said as he instructed the Joint Task Force.

Aero raised his hand "I got some info to add." Aero said, as he stood up and walked over to the projected wall "I pulled up some more information on Sabnock's mission, and apparently he's meeting with his Grimm Reaper insurgents at this warehouse, so you can expect a firefight." Aero said, Onyx moved back to the center of the room and let the screen go back up which revealed a white board.

"So, we'll separate into two teams: Alpha which consists of Carmine, Aero, Crimson, Bubba, and Keppel. Bravo will be myself, Titus, Nightshade, Grullo, and Grizz. Alpha will take care of Sabnock and Bravo will take care of Paimon. We'll need to identify and execute, so we clean up this mess a little bit tonight." Onyx said as he wrote on the board. Carmine looked at the other mercenaries in the room.

"Have you guys ever seen a firearm combined with a melee weapon? Like a sword but the hilt is a pistol." Carmine said, Onyx and Titus nodded to each other "Yeah, people sometimes make their own weapons that are a melee/ranged combo, so it makes close quarters combat easier. This was mine, Crimson grab that Thompson from the case." Onyx said, Crimson stood up and pulled a M1a1 Thompson with a drum mag from a case on the wall, he walked over and handed it to Onyx.

Onyx pressed a button, and everyone watched as the submachine gun transformed into a double-headed battle-axe "I used to use this, but I stopped when I dropped out of Beacon, it was so clunky that I couldn't really use it. That's why I prefer to use my AK-103. Why do you ask?" Onyx asked as he transformed it back to its Submachine Gun form. Carmine scratched the back of his head.

"That girl I fought earlier had a sword that had a pistol as a hilt, and her sword sliced right through my rifle. I think I need to get one of those custom weapons made, so I can have weapons on demand." Carmine said, Onyx nodded and pulled out his scroll "I'll send him a message to Mindaro to let him know that we'll be by in a couple days." Onyx said as he typed on his scroll.

"Alright, let's load up and get these mother fuckers!" Carmine exclaimed as he stood up and slammed his fist down on the table. Everyone stood up and walked out of the room, but Carmine stopped and grabbed Grullo by the arm "Yo, let's grab the M134." Carmine said as he led Grullo down to the basement. They passed the interrogation room and walked to a large steel door at the end of the hall. Carmine punched in a number on the keypad and unlocked the doors, Grullo pushed them open and flipped a light on the illuminated the room filled with crates and boxes.

"So how much did you take from the train?" Carmine asked as they walked down a makeshift hall of boxes and crates, Grullo laughed "Well, at least half of the train." Grullo said which caused Carmine to stumble "Excuse me!?" Carmine asked dumbfounded, Grullo laughed harder.

"We told Ironwood that the stuff was destroyed in combat and that they could write off as payment for your injury." Grullo said, Carmine stopped as he did air math "Wait, we never did anything with a train though." Carmine said, Grullo pulled out his scroll and showed him the picture of a contract 'Train escort to Vega for Atlas.' "You remember our two options of going on a train or checking out a village?" Grullo asked, Carmine nodded confused.

"Well that was this contract, we told them that we never confirmed it because we thought someone was listening to our conversations. They bought that shit like discount wine." Grullo said as they walked up to a medium sized box, Carmine pried the lid off and let it fall to the ground.

Grullo picked the multi-barrel mounted gun and carried it on his shoulder as they left the armory, Carmine locked the door behind them and they left the basement as everyone was gearing up. "Go mount that on the Gurkha and mount the M2 on the Humvee." Carmine said, Grullo nodded and made his way to the where the vehicles were parked.

"I got you another Heavy IBA from the train, but I couldn't find a SCAR-H for you." Onyx said as he sat the heavy vest on the table, Carmine beamed with light "Wait, do you still have my old one?" Carmine asked, Onyx placed as beaten and battered vest on the table that was held together by mere threads along with rest of his gear. "Damn, she did a number on me." Carmine said as he emptied the pouches and filled the new pouches, he placed Sapphire's delicates in his front pouch.

He slipped his harness on around his waist and secured the clips around his legs, he pulled on a fresh black hoodie and the new vest. He adjusted the shoulder pads as Onyx fastened the side straps for him, he attached his Ka-Bar to his upper shoulder and transferred the patches and markers to the new vest. He walked into the armory and started load up on his gear, he grabbed his P226 from the holster and placed in back in the drawer in exchange for a Berretta 92fs that he placed into his holster and clicked the strap closed.

He opened a cabinet and pulled out a G36c, he checked the magazine and slapped it back into the receiver before he pulled the bolt back and chambered a round. He placed the carbine on the table and opened another cabinet in which he pulled out an ACOG sight and an ERGO grip. He slid the sight onto the top rail and tightened the mount before he attached the ERGO grip to the carbine.

"Yo Onyx, throw some music on!" Carmine yelled, Onyx nodded and pulled out his scroll, he scrolled through and tapped on a song. "I think this is appropriate." Onyx said with a chuckle.

 ***All Nightmare Long – Metallica***

Carmine nodded his head as the heavy metal riffs came on through the speakers, Carmine pulled on his gloves and fastened the wrists tightly.

 **Luck. Runs. Out**

 **Crawl from the wreckage one more time**

 **Horrific memory twists the mind**

 **Dark, rutted, cold and hard to turn**

 **Path of destruction feel it burn**

 **Still life, Incarnation**

 **Still life, Infamy**

 **Hallucination, Heresy**

 **Still you run, what's to come?**

 **What's to be?**

Carmine pulled a black gas mask from the cabinet; the mask had a double filter system and black visor that was reflective. He pulled the mask on and tightened the back of it before he pulled his hood over his head.

 **'Cause we hunt you down without mercy!**

 **Hunt you down all nightmare long!**

 **Feel us breathe upon your face!**

 **Feel us shift, every move we trace!**

 **Hunt you down without mercy!**

 **Hunt you down all nightmare long, yeah!**

 **Luck. Runs. Out.**

Carmine pulled a Bowie Knife from a drawer of knives and placed the sheathed blade on his hip, Onyx stared at his little brother "Got enough gear?" Onyx asked sarcastically, Carmine flipped him off as his breath exhaled through the filter.

 **The light that is not light is here**

 **To flush you out with your own fear**

 **You hide, you hide, but will be found**

 **Release your grip without a sound**

 **Still life, Incarnation**

 **Still life, Infamy**

 **Hallucination, Heresy**

 **Still you run, what's to come?**

 **What's to be?**

"Alright boys! We ready to do this?!" Onyx asked as he hyped up the joint operation, the mercenaries cheered and raised their rifles in the air while the safeties were on. Onyx led the two teams out and they climbed into their vehicles as the sun was setting below the horizon.

Carmine clicked a button and opened the rear gate as he started the Gurkha, the armored vehicle rumbled to life as everyone got into place. "Alpha come in. Mic check one two." Onyx said through the CB radio in the center console, Carmine picked up the handset "Excuse me sir, you must have the wrong channel." Carmine said as he laughed to himself. Onyx sighed through the radio "You cheeky cunt, just move out." Onyx said, Carmine shifted into first and drove down the driveway slowly.

Carmine clicked on his scroll and tapped on a song as they turned onto a main road, heavy metal came through the speakers as they picked up speed.

 ***Bullet With A Name – Non-Point***

 **My disposition is in a position for all to see.**

 **Regretless for how it feels.**

 **I got a bullet with a name on it.**

 **Bullet with a name.**

 **Because the cause for all, the pause you think you see**

 **is really concentration on the steel.**

 **I got a bullet with a name on it.**

 **Bullet with a name.**

The Gurkha sped up more as it drove down the road toward the industrial district, Carmine turned the music down a lot as he grabbed the handset.

 **See everybody watching and passing judgment**

 **on every little move and decision, I make.**

 **How can I be an individual with the weight of the world**

 **with 8 other planets to take?**

 **and with everything happening**

 **gunshots clapping and people all**

 **running in every direction**

 **with their hands up praying for the drama to end,**

 **I got my hand out looking for some money to spend.**

 **The price tags on the things I need are getting bigger by the day**

 **I got a bullet with a name on it.**

 **Bullet with a name.**

 **The way I work so hard for things they just take away from me.**

 **I got a bullet with a name on it.**

 **Bullet with a name.**

"Alright Bravo, good luck and radio in when you're done." Carmine said, the radio clicked as Bravo came through "Alright Alpha, good luck brothers." Onyx said as the Humvee took a left into the lower-class side of Vale and the Gurkha sped toward factories and warehouses.

 **I'm working harder than a hundred black mules down in Vacuo.**

 **No water, no clouds, no cover,**

 **from the hotter than Hell no dinner bell,**

 **empty oven again from another bad opinion.**

 **I mean who doesn't want the cars,**

 **money, fame, attention, bars, honeys,**

 **games, attention, stars?**

 **Funny how we say we don't need it**

 **then turn around and try to achieve it.**

Carmine turned the music off as they pulled onto a stretch of road surrounded by warehouses, most of the warehouses were metal except for one at the end of the road that was red brick with a single yellow brick above the door "There it is boys." Carmine said as they slowly approached, Crimson looked at Carmine "So what's the game plan?" Crimson asked, Carmine looked at the steering wheel for a couple seconds.

"Alright, I'll go in and when you hear me say 'Broken Fang', open fire." Carmine said as he grabbed his G36C, Crimson pushed the hatch up and connected the ammo belt to the M134. Carmine placed his rifle on his back and walked toward the side door, he opened the door and walked into the warehouse that was filled with approximately one hundred Grimm Reaper insurgents, they all turned and stared at Carmine while a man dressed in black stood on stage. He had a silver skull mask on with glowing red eyes "And you are?" The man asked in a deep demonic voice.

"Yeah, the name is Danny. I come from the Devil's Disciples, they wouldn't take me, and a woman named Loki referred me to someone named Sabnock, is that you?" Carmine asked, the man stared at him "I might be, tell me this though. What's my real name then?" The man asked, Carmine thought rapidly until he remembered Thomas's story "Gundy Lilo." Carmine said confidently, the man's red eyes turned green "Alright, get up here." Sabnock said.

Carmine ran up the stairs and walked over to the man, his heart was beating rapidly as he stood there, Carmine reached into his pocket and pulled out his scroll "Sorry sir, I was silencing my scroll. My lady might try to call me." Carmine said as he turned the volume off and turned on the voice recorder, he stuck the scroll back into his pocket.

"Like I was saying, the Iron Hammer will move into place in three weeks' time and we'll shell the fuck out of Beacon and Vale, this mother fuckers will finally meet their maker and fall at our feet." Sabnock said which caused the crowd to cheer, Carmine tapped him on the shoulder while he covertly pressed his throat comm piece "Might I suggest calling it 'Broken Fang'." Carmine said, Sabnock looked at him for a moment "Wait, I know who you are!" Sabnock said before bullets started to rip through the metal door and shred the Grimm Reaper insurgents from left to right. Sabnock turned his attention to the gunfire.

Carmine pulled the bowie knife out quickly and thrusted it into Sabnock's gut "That's for the children you son of a bitch, and this is for Thomas." Carmine said as he pulled out his pistol and placed it under his chin and pulled the trigger. The bullet ripped through his head and killed him instantly, Carmine pulled the blade from his gut and sheathed it, he drew his G36c and fired into the crowd.

After a minute, the gunfire stopped, and Alpha team stormed into the building, they walked through the sea of bodies and executed any stragglers. *Bang* "Aero come here!" Carmine yelled to Aero *Bang*. Aero ran up the stairs and stopped in front of Carmine "Apparently they have Iron Hammer and it's on its way here. We need to find it because I have a feeling we'll find another Prince there." Carmine said *Bang* as he watched his team go to work.

*Boom* A loud gunshot echoed throughout the warehouse, Carmine looked over the area to see Keppel covered in blood while he held 'Charon' as its barrel smoked. "I forget you're an idiot sometimes." Carmine said as Keppel wiped the blood off his face with the shirt of a dead Grimm Reaper.

"Aero, did you ever find out how big force size is?" Carmine asked the militant, Aero pulled out his scroll and showed him a number "Good god! Seven hundred strong?!" Carmine exclaimed, Aero nodded "Yeah, this was just one of seven." Aero said as Carmine pulled out his scroll and hit stop on the digital recorder on his scroll.

"Here, I managed to record some of the plan before he figured out who I was." Carmine said as he handed Aero his scroll, Aero took the scroll and listened to it while Carmine looked over the sea of corpses. Crimson walked through and shot anybody that was still alive "No mercy for the evil." Crimson said as one of the Reapers reached up toward him, Crimson squeezed the trigger and put one between his eyes.

Aero walked back over to Carmine "Alright, so I can think of three possible locations that the Iron Hammer could be; Vacuo, Mount Glenn, or somewhere in Forever Fall. I'll contact Harlequin of Viper Legion to see if they can do air recon for us." Aero said as he handed the scroll back to Carmine.

"So, this thing is huge, so it shouldn't be hard to find, so maybe air recon will find it." Carmine said as he texted Onyx 'HVT has been eliminated.' Carmine typed into his scroll before he hit send and turned his scroll volume back on. After a couple minutes, his scroll went off and he opened his scroll and read the message 'Cool, you guys can head this way. We could use the backup since we haven't moved in yet'.

"Yo! Look at this!" Crimson yelled, Carmine, Aero, and Bubba ran to the back where Crimson stood by multiple trailers hooked to semis. He lifted the latch and swung the door open, Carmine turned his flashlight on and shown it into the trailer, children sat against the wall with shackles around their ankles and wrists. "Get those doors open, now!" Carmine yelled as he ran to the next trailer and unlatched the bar.

He swung the door open and found more children bound and shackled, Aero ran over to Sabnock's body and patted down his sides "Keys? Keys? Keys? Scroll, I'll take that. Lien, thank you. Ahh Keys!" Aero said to himself as he pulled a key ring out of Sabnock's pockets. He ran back over with the keys and started to unlock the shackles, the children were unshackled but didn't move "Bubba! Call the police." Carmine said as he knelt in front of the children.

"You're safe now, kids. The police will be here shortly. You can relax and don't worry." Carmine said, the children stared at the rifleman who stood up and walked out of the trailer, he walked over to Sabnock's body and pulled the skull mask off. He opened his scroll and took a picture of Sabnock's face, he sent it to Onyx before he put the scroll back into his pocket.

"Alright guys, we got to go! The police are on their way." Bubba said as he ran down the steps, Carmine jumped off the stage and ran out the door as sirens were heard in the distance. He hopped into the driver seat and started the engine up as Crimson, Aero, and Keppel climbed into the Gurkha. He threw the truck into reverse and backed down the road fast, he jerked the wheel and spun the truck around before he threw it into first gear. He stepped on the pedal and sped down the road, he hit the clutch and switched to second gear.

They turned down a road to lower side of Vale as five police cars sped by followed by four ambulances, the Gurkha drove down a barren street that was lined with houses and buildings, some buildings were boarded up and others had broken windows.

The Gurkha pulled up next to the Humvee that was parked around the corner, Carmine shut the engine off and hopped out of the Gurkha, Carmine looked around the barren street as the rest of Alpha regrouped behind him. Bravo moved out of the shadows and formed up in front of Alpha "You haven't moved in yet?" Carmine asked as Keppel stared into the darkness, Carmine noticed it and nudged him "Hey man, everything alright?" Carmine asked the sniper, Keppel shook his head "He's here." Keppel said, everyone turned around to see a man standing under a street light.

"Well hello boys, nice for you to join us." Paimon said, he wore another black skull mask with glowing red eyes, both Alpha and Bravo drew their weapons and aimed them at Paimon "Surrender Livi, we have you outgunned!" Aero yelled, Paimon started to laugh uncontrollably, he bent over with his hands on his knees. He stood back up straight and sighed after laughing, he snapped his fingers which caused dozens of people to storm out with weapons raised.

"No, I think I have you surrounded." Paimon said with a chuckle as he withdrew a katana from his back, Alpha and Bravo stood back to back as they counted the Reaper insurgents "I count thirty on our side." Carmine said as he moved his weapon back and forth as he maintained the stand still. "We got thirty as well, thirty-one including fuck face over there." Onyx said as he also maintained the stand still.

"What's the game plan now?" Crimson asked, Carmine and Onyx said at the same time "I'm not sure." Crimson thought to himself "Shoot our way out?" Crimson asked, Nightshade chuckled "I mean maybe if we use everything at our fingertips; weapons, explosives, semblances. Everything." Nightshade said, Carmine thought to himself for a moment "Wait, if Grullo uses his Time Dilation, my Supernova, Aero's thermal sight, and Bubba's healing touch. What else we got?" Carmine asked as they planned.

"Well, I got something that will be here in a couple minutes, we just need to stall them a little more." Titus said, Alpha and Bravo nodded in agreement. "Where did all these people come from?!" Carmine asked, a masked man laughed "Oh you should know, mother fucker." A masked man said, Carmine looked at the masked man for moment but realized who the voice belonged to.

"Well, Officer Pine. Nice to see you again." Carmine said sarcastically, Pine raised his rifle and pointed it at Carmine "You made me lose my job, you made my wife leave me, you ruined my life." Pine said, Carmine laughed "I didn't force you to become the Vale Violator, dick nose." Carmine said, Pine got irritated "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Pine yelled as he charged toward Carmine.

Carmine unsheathed his Bowie knife and thrusted it into Pine's chest, he covered his mouth as he watched the life fade from his eyes. He pulled the blade from his chest and put it back into its sheath, he pushed the lifeless corpse to the ground. "Well, shit." Carmine said as bullets started to fly from every direction. Crimson jumped back into the Gurkha as the others ran and took cover behind buildings.

"Back-up will be here in two minutes." Titus said as bullets bounced off the walls, Carmine peaked around the corner and dumped into two people. They dropped to the ground in pools of blood, Paimon seemed to disappear into the darkness, but reappeared out of the shadows near a building. He kept disappearing and reappearing in the shadows until he popped up near the Joint Ops, he ran forward and slashed downward at Carmine's feet. Crimson popped out the top of the Gurkha and activated the M134, he turned the turret as he ripped into the Reapers that fired at him, his aura took a brunt of the bullets as he sprayed the 7.62mm bullets out of the M134.

"Here they come!" Titus said as he shot another Reaper and slammed his buttstock into another's throat. A Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk flew in over the city and circled around, .50 Cal bullets rained down from either side and ripped through the Reapers, insurgents were ripped apart as the bullets rained down. Paimon turned around and looked up at the helicopter, Carmine leaped up and pulled out his Ka-Bar from the sheath and plunged it into his chest "You will never hurt those girls again, you son of a bitch. Burn in hell forever!" Carmine yelled as he pulled the knife out and slit his throat.

The Joint Operation cleaned up the Grimm Reapers quickly, they gunned down the felons with extreme prejudice. Carmine reached into Paimon's pockets and pulled out his scroll that he tossed to Aero "Get those open and pull all the information you can." Carmine said, the Black Hawk slowly landed in the middle of the plaza, multiple armed militants ran out of the transport with their rifles raised "Well, you know when to show up on perfect time." Titus said as a woman stepped out of the helicopter.

"You called us and had us on standby, we didn't head this way until you sent the text." The woman said, Titus chuckled "Yeah, that was my bad, Quinn." He said as he hugged her, Carmine and Onyx walked up to greet the woman "Carmine and Onyx Sable, this is Harlequin Flae or Quinn." Titus said as she extended her hand, Carmine shook her hand followed by Onyx.

"It's nice to meet you guys, the legendary Sable Brothers of The Wolf Pack. You guys are talked about a lot over at Viper Legion, you guys ever need air support, don't be afraid to give us a call. It's free amongst mercenary groups like us, Titus calls us all the time." She said, glaring at Titus. The woman had long strawberry red hair, pale milky skin, heterochromatic eyes, and a pair of red cat ears that flicked when the air hit it.

As they talked, two Mi–35 Hinds flew over and circled the city as they conversed "Damn Quinn, how much firepower did you bring?" Carmine asked, Quinn laughed as she brushed the hair out of her face and looked up "About this much." She said as two AH–6 Little Birds flew over followed by Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche. "I only needed a Black Hawk, but you sent a whole armada." Titus said as he shook his head. She stood proud "Send them running with their tails between their legs when they see this armada show up." Harlequin said, Grullo dragged Paimon's body over to where the leaders were talking "Hey, what should we do with this?" Grullo asked, Keppel ran over and swabbed the inside of Paimon's mouth with a Q-Tip before he activated his Bloodhound.

Keppel stared at the Q-Tip with his glowing Cyan colored eyes, he pulled out his scroll and typed in the raw information that was running through his head "I designed this program to analyze DNA components and it'll let me know the entire double helix of the DNA, I can break apart the strands and analyze each chromosome." Keppel said as he pulled up the information on his scroll.

"His semblance was Shadow Step, it allowed him to move from shadow to shadow." Keppel said, Grullo picked the body up and threw it in a dumpster, covered it in fire dust, and set the corpse ablaze in the dumpster. "There, he's been dealt with." Grullo said as he rejoined the group.

"So that just leaves Cerberus, Leviathan, Astaroth, Alastor, Loki, and Diablo." Carmine said as he crossed names off a paper list, Keppel looked at Carmine "But Alastor was arrested." Keppel said confused, Carmine looked at him "Exactly, this won't end until he is dead." Carmine said as he clicked a pen closed and put back into his pouch along with the tiny notebook.

"Hey Harlequin, you think one of your boys could give me a ride to Beacon? I want to see my girlfriend." Carmine asked, she smiled "Yeah, hop in the Black Hawk." Quinn said, Carmine climbed into the side of the helicopter as the engine started up.

The Black Hawk took off into the night sky as it circled around Vale and flew toward Beacon, Carmine pulled out his scroll and called Sapphire, the scroll rang twice before she answered. "Hello?" She answered sleepily, Carmine chuckled lightly "Hey sweetheart, I got enough things squared away, so I can come see you at Beacon." Carmine said, he heard shuffling and stuff being knocked over through Sapphire's end "I'll be outside in two minutes." Sapphire said before she ended the call.

The Black Hawk flew over the water as it approached the giant school, Carmine could see Sapphire outside jumping up and down happily with a grey-haired man next to her. The Black Hawk flew over and hovered as it rotated slowly. He looked down and smiled at the love of his life who looked so giddy to see him which caused a big smile to grow across his face, Carmine looked over as he saw something out of the left corner of his eye. A man stood on a boat in the middle of the lake and aimed something into the air.

"Shit! RPG!" Carmine yelled as a rocket leapt from the tube of an RPG-7.

 **A/N: Aren't cliffhangers fun!? Hope you liked Chapter 7 and the saga of The Wolf Pack and the World of Remnant. I'm working on Ch. 16 of Titan Rising and will resume that one when the season picks back up. In the meantime, check out Team BAWM that I'm writing with my good friends, The Burning Ruler and RebelKira. Remember to Favorite, Follow, and Review, and as always, this is Nightmare 6-4, signing off.**


	8. Chapter 8: Grimm Horizon

Ch. 8 – Grimm Horizon

 **I do not own RWBY, RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum (R.I.P.) nor do I own any media that may appear in the story. I only own the OCs, Enjoy! Remember to Favorite, Follow, and leave a Review.**

"RPG!" Carmine yelled as the rocket leapt from the tube and screamed across the sky toward the Black Hawk, the rocket impacted the tail rotor and exploded. The Black Hawk was sent into a tail spin as it burst into flames and fell toward the ground, Carmine grabbed the harness and held on for dear life until the helicopter started to glow purple. Carmine looked out the side and saw a well-endowed woman with a riding crop in her hand that she pointed at the helicopter, the helicopter slowly moved over to the land and sat down slowly.

Carmine fell from the disabled helicopter and hugged the ground "Oh if there's a god, thank you." Carmine said as he kissed the ground, Sapphire ran over and dropped to her knees next to him "You scared me to death!" She said as she slapped his arm, but she couldn't hide her emotions. "I can't keep doing this anymore, when you go off on these jobs I never know if you'll come back to me." Sapphire said as she started to break down and cry into his back. Carmine wrapped his arms around her waist and held her closely "You know I can't die, not until I've made you my wife." Carmine said as he held her tightly, she covered her mouth and looked at him wide eyed.

"Are you serious?" She asked quietly, she couldn't see it, but he was smiling under his gas mask "Yes, sweetheart." Carmine said lightly, Sapphire squealed with happiness as she squeezed him tightly. A silver-haired man walked up to Carmine and Sapphire, he extended his hand and helped Carmine up off the ground "So you must be Carmine. I got to say, you've been causing a lot of chaos throughout Vale hunting down this faction." The man said, suddenly there was a crackle of electricity through the air "I guess that's my cue." A disembodied voice said before a lightning strike hit the ground and left a single man standing there.

The silver-haired man looked at Carmine "Friend of yours?" The man asked, Carmine moved in front of Sapphire and gestured to the silver-haired man "Get her inside, now!" Carmine said as he pulled out his G36c and dropped the empty magazine from the receiver and slapped a fresh mag into the carbine.

"Man, I was kind of hoping for a crowd of adoring fans or high school chicks. I get older, but they stay the same." The man said with a creepy laugh, Carmine pulled back the bolt and chambered a round. Carmine dashed forward and drove his shoulder into the man's gut, he lifted him up and slammed him into the ground, the man spun around and tossed Carmine across the campus. He slammed into a statue and shattered it to pieces, he grabbed one of the arms and sprinted back toward the man.

He cracked the marble arm across the mans' face and kneed him in the gut, he followed it up with a roundhouse and a back kick to the chest. The man dropped to the ground and picked himself back up quickly, he moved his left leg in front of him and raised both of his fists up in front of him. He bobbed back and forth as Carmine charged at him, he cocked his right leg back and cracked Carmine across the face with his foot.

Carmine fell to the ground, but quickly picked himself up and got back into his combat stance by raising his fists and lowering his body toward the ground. The ran forward and threw a right cross, but Carmine grabbed his wrist, the man attempted to strike him with his left hand, but Carmine that wrist as well and using the man's arms as levers linked at a single fulcrum and lifted the man into the air before he slammed him into the ground again.

Carmine quickly lifted his right foot and brought the heel of his boot down into the man's chest, the crack of a rib was audible and caused Carmine to wince as the sound was unpleasant. The man picked himself up slowly and wiped the blood from his mouth, he dashed forward and threw a right punch, but Carmine deflected it, spun him around, and placed him in a rear naked choke hold. "Shhh! Shhh! Just go to sleep." Carmine said as he slowly brought the man down to the ground.

The man slowly slipped unconscious and Carmine dropped the body to the ground, the rifleman pushed himself off the ground and grabbed the man by the arms. Carmine pulled the man near the edge and zip tied his hands together, Carmine turned around and looked back at Sapphire who was looking at him from behind the silver-haired man and Qrow Branwen. "I guess we'll try this again, babe." Carmine said as he picked the man up, winked at Sapphire, and dove off the cliff.

Carmine held the man tightly as they pierced the water and he swam back up to the surface, the man's head bobbed out of the water as Carmine dragged him toward the shore. As he got closer, he felt hands grab him and pull him out of the water, he turned around and saw Grullo, Onyx, and Grizz pulling him out of the water.

"Hey guys, great to see you." Carmine said as he slowly stood up, Keppel walked up and swabbed the inside of the man's mouth before he activated his semblance. He scanned the swab and entered the information as it developed in his mind, his scroll beeped and gave a detailed report on the person in question. "You will never guess who we have here." Keppel said as he put his scroll away.

Everyone looked confused until Carmine spoke up "Cerberus?" He asked sarcastically, but Keppel shook his head "Astaroth." Keppel said as he rolled the body over, Titus shook his head as Aero walked up "What are we going to do with him?" Titus asked as Aero started to dig through the Reaper's pockets until he pulled out a scroll "Y'all can do whatever, I got what I need." Aero said as he put the scroll in his pocket.

"What are you doing with those scrolls?" Carmine asked the bowman, Aero turned to look at the rifleman "Well, I'm using them to pull all the information possible and to hunt down the so called 'Iron Hammer'." Aero said as he pulled out his compound bow and readied an arrow with a red tip.

He drew the string back and launched the arrow over the rooftops, the arrow turned upward and launched into the sky before it exploded into an extremely bright light. Someone screamed out in agony as they fell off a roof and hit dumpster near where the joint force was meeting, Aero walked over to the hooded man and dragged him to the center. He tossed down an RP7 and threw the man to the ground "Here's the person who tried to kill you." Aero said as the person covered his eyes in pain.

"So, you tried to kill me?!" Carmine asked as he knelt next to the man on the ground, he grabbed them by the throat and pulled them close to his face "You make me sick, you son of a bitch." Carmine said before he dropped the man back to the ground "Do with him what you want." Carmine said as he walked away slowly, a single gunshot could be heard from behind him before silence fell over the deserted street.

Onyx quickly caught up to Carmine and walked next to him "Hey little bro, everything alright?" Onyx asked concerned, Carmine stopped and lowered his head "I told Sapphire I would marry her when I was done with this." Carmine said, Onyx's eyes went wide "Do you?" He asked confused, Carmine nodded his head "You have no idea, but I hate putting her through the constant thought of will I or won't I come back, and if I come back, will something follow me?" Carmine said as he lightly punched a light pole. Onyx grabbed his shoulder and spun him around "You got us here, so don't worry." Onyx said as he tried to reassure his little brother.

"And what if we aren't here? What if we're off somewhere and gods forbid something happens?!" Carmine asked as his visor started to fog up, he pulled off his mask and clipped it to his belt. Tears slowly slid down his cheeks as he sat down on the sidewalk, Onyx sat next to him and wrapped his arm around him "Listen, we can only do so much and our enemies… well they'll do whatever it takes to get to us first, so we have to cut the head off the snake before it strikes." Onyx said.

Carmine looked up in time to see Titus carry Astaroth's unconscious body away toward an awaiting pickup truck "Hey Quinn! Where you taking him to?" Onyx asked as Titus threw the body into the truck bed "Interrogation." Titus said as he climbed into the back and slapped the side twice, the truck took off down the road leaving Carmine, Onyx, Keppel, and Grullo alone in the middle of town.

"Want to go get a drink?" Onyx asked, Carmine shook his head "I just want to have Sapphire back in my arms again." Carmine said as he looked at his gloved hands, Onyx nodded "I know, that's why I sent our new associate to obtain her." Onyx said as black smoke pooled on the ground in the middle of town. Phantom appeared slowly out of the smoke along with Sapphire who ran out and dropped into Carmine's arms.

"You two spend the week with each other, I don't think anything will be happening anytime soon." Onyx said as Sapphire pressed her lips against Carmine's, he wrapped his arms around her waist and held her tightly. He slowly stood up and wrapped his arm around her waist "To the bar we go." Carmine said as he followed his brother, Grullo, and Keppel to Junior's bar where Crimson and Nightshade were standing along with Phantom.

Carmine pushed the door open and walked in with Sapphire, the bar seemed more dead than usual. "Where's the patron's at, Junior?" Carmine asked with his wrapped around Sapphire's waist, Junior dropped the glass he held when he heard the familiar voice "Oh shit! You scared the fuck out of me." Junior said as he grabbed a small dust pan and swept up the broken glass, Onyx rested his arm on the bar "He asked a question, Junior." Onyx said, Junior dumped the glass into a trash bin under the bar.

"Well, there has been a steady increase of bodies being found in the streets. So, people have been staying clear of the area, hence the low patron level." Junior said as he poured a drink for the six mercs. "Has that been you guys?" Junior asked, Onyx sipped the whiskey and shook his head. "No, we take care of our targets, so to speak. Except for the warehouse incident that will be in the news." Onyx said, Junior nodded his head "Oh that's good as long as… Wait, what warehouse?!" Junior asked with wide eyes.

Carmine hammered back the liquor and set the glass down "Read the headlines." Carmine said ominously before he walked to the lounge area with Sapphire. The other five joined them in the lounge, Carmine sat forward "So, what are the plans?" Carmine asked as he looked at the floor, he looked up and cocked his head slightly to the left.

Onyx pulled his scroll open and projected a map of Beacon with several blips on it "From what Aero gathered, they have to bases of operation. One located in Mountain Glenn and one in Forever Fall forest, The Devil's Disciples have already started to move on the ones in Mistral and Viper Legion is closing in on one near Atlas. With this joint task force closing in on them, they'll be forced to come out of hiding, and when they do, we strike." Onyx said as he showed the strike force.

"Viper is moving in with an attacking force of seventy AK-130s and AK-200s, they'll have the area surrounded with four Black Hawks and two Pave Lows along with two F-22s on standby. The Devils are going in with eight strike teams also headed up with eight battalions of AK-130s, they're moving in via four AH-6 Little Birds, four H725 Super Cougars, and eight CH-47 Chinooks. They'll have equipment consisting of Blast pads, flashbangs, APM-6s, M120 CREM Breaching Rounds, X-Kairo Thermite Rounds, and Brimstone BC-3 Exothermic Charges. They'll also have an EE-ONE-D overhead to provide overwatch and thorough scanning. Loadout will consist of typical weapons such as M4s, AK-74s, M16s, Tar-21s, and G36Cs." Onyx said as he displayed the loadouts.

"If the other bases are like the one in Forever Fall, they'll have a fight on their hand." Carmine said. "Well, while they do that, how about we enjoy the down time and fucking relax." Onyx said as he sat down in a chair and exhaled a sigh of relief.

Carmine stood up and made his way up onto the stage, Crimson and Nightshade looked up at him "Are we doing this? I need to blow off some steam, let's do this." Crimson said as he and Nightshade said as they followed him up onto the stage. He grabbed the mic stand and pulled the microphone off it, by the time he was setting up, Onyx, Grullo, and Keppel had joined him on the stage.

"The past couple days have been complete hell for us, from being blown up by a giant ballistic missile to being abducted and having a Grimm death squad come after you and your rescuers." Carmine said as he stood at the front of the stage. He gripped the microphone tighter as he felt his body swell with anger and rage as he thought about the sights he saw in the bunker, he gritted his teeth but stopped when he saw Sapphire out of the corner of his eye, she looked at him as love filled her eyes. She twirled her hair lightly as she watched the man that was dressed in heavy body armor and dark clothing.

"These past couple days have been filled with death and despair, so let's get these emotions out and brighten up this week." Carmine said as Onyx and Crimson ran their hand along the neck of their guitars. Carmine looked out over the crowd and felt a couple pair of eyes with malicious intent staring back at him, he smirked slightly as he held up his right hand and extended two fingers. Onyx and Crimson looked out over the crowd and saw three hooded figures that stared at Carmine, Onyx slowly moved for the pistol in his waistline, but Nightshade shook his head "Not here." Nightshade said in a hushed tone, Onyx moved his hand away from the grip and placed it back on the guitar.

 **[CA= Carmine, O= Onyx, N= Nightshade, CR= Crimson, GR= Grullo]**

 **Ready For This – All Good Things**

Grullo slammed the sticks down into the drums as Onyx and Crimson started to shred out a long riff, Carmine nodded his head along with the rhythm.

 **Ca: Living breathing for a single moment. We've left everything we had behind, Time to roll brothers out and over. Nothing to lose, nothing but time. Are you sure you wanna take this road now? Are you certain that you're gonna win? Did they tell you that it could be over? Over and done before you begin?**

 **Ca: Everything you know will not prepare you, nothing's gonna change if you resist. Everything you got, bring it on we dare you! Nothing will compare to this!**

 **Ca: It's an avalanche! (O: Are you ready for this) It's a critical mass! (O: Are you ready for this) It's a massive attack! (O: Are you ready for this) It will kick your ass! (O: Are you ready for this)**

 **Ca: Bring the fire, and you take your chances, start the fight, and we'll bring your answer! (All: Woah) Are you ready for this? Are you ready for this? Are you ready for this?**

 **Ca: Like a stone we're colder, harder, like a rock we're standing strong. Never doubt we will hold out, but never fear it won't be long. Are you sure you want to take this road now? Are you sure you want to make this stand? Do you want to shout and scream your glory, just to have it taken out your hands?!**

 **Ca: Everything you know will not prepare you, nothing's gonna change if you resist. Everything you got, bring it on we dare you! Nothing will compare to this!**

 **Ca: It's an avalanche! (O: Are you ready for this) It's a critical mass! (O: Are you ready for this) It's a massive attack! (O: Are you ready for this) It will kick your ass! (O: Are you ready for this)**

 **Ca: Bring the fire, and you take your chances, start the fight, and we'll bring your answer! (All: Woah) Are you ready for this? Are you ready for this? Are you ready for this?**

 **Ca: Build your walls. Fortify. Hold your enemy lines. Lock and load or bug out, but you won't slow us down.**

 **Ca, O: Build your walls. Fortify. Hold your enemy lines. Lock and load or bug out, but you won't slow us down.**

 **Ca: Everything you got bring it on we dare you, nothing will compare to this. Everything you know will not prepare you, nothing's gonna change if you resist. Everything you got, bring it on we dare you! Nothing will compare to this!**

 **Ca: It's an avalanche! (O: Are you ready for this) It's a critical mass! (O: Are you ready for this) It's a massive attack! (O: Are you ready for this) It will kick your ass! (O: Are you ready for this)**

 **Ca: Bring the fire, and you take your chances, start the fight, and we'll bring your answer! (All: Woah) Are you ready for this? Are you ready for this? Are you ready for this?**

Carmine closed his eyes as he finished the last verse, he opened his eyes and looked into the crowd as the eyes of malice moved out and left the club 'Yeah, take that back to your leaders.' Carmine thought to himself, Carmine took a deep breath and exhaled slowly "Alright, let's get these vibes flowing!" Carmine said as he Onyx shredded out a few chords.

 **Strike Back – Jonathan Young**

 **N: Whoa-oa-oa-oa-oa-oa-oa. Whoa-oa-oa-oa-oa-oa-oa. Whoa-oa-oa-oa-oa-oa-oa. Whoa-oa-oa.**

 **Ca: Strike Back!**

Crimson shredded out a riff that shook everyone to the core.

 **Ca: I might not ever see the chance to change the course of history, but I'll take that chance for even the slightest possibility. I turned my back and left a fate that I could have just accepted now, I'll fight for the future next to you, it's where I need to be.**

 **O: Bring it on 'Cause I'm just gonna grow up in the battle, hey! Pushing through the burning sky, burning my fire a dragon's wishing through the skies, I'm fighting off this nightmare! And what I see, what's happened? Ready to die in the now that we live in not scared of my past, but for the future I'm giving in, screaming for my pride!**

 **Ca: Don't let your tears begin to fall, I will be screaming for you all the way!**

 **O: Whatever fell and tell right behind me. Won't stray me from my destiny!**

 **Ca: Your smile will never let me fall, with you behind me I'll go all the way.**

 **O: I'm gonna push it and make for you and me, all our failures rest in peace!**

 **Ca: No matter what it takes!**

Crimson shredded into the guitar strings with force as his body moved with the melody, Grullo slammed the sticks down into the toms and high hats as he beat the shit out of the kick drum.

 **Ca: Even in the corner of my heart I beat my bloody fists on walls disregard the chances, I'm never turning back at all. Even when the pouring rain of reason starts to fall upon, I'll know I will never hesitate when the chance to change our future calls.**

 **O: So, as the day breaks, soldiers follow me now! Don't you ever stumble, or you'll pay it back at expense, now! Pay back fast, ain't failing you, worthless. No, men, I won't live in sadness. Walk off, you all, disappear with the rest, but you can't fight if there's fire in my chest, so scream, ready for your fight!**

 **Ca: I light my fire standing tall, my heart will keep on burning all the way!**

 **O: Nobody can put out my fire, get away. So, get back to a safe place.**

 **Ca: I'm never loose inside at all and I won't hesitate; go all the way!**

 **O: Don't blind your eyes if you've lost, yeah, I am gonna be your light!**

 **Ca: So, take my hand!**

 **Cr: Hey, what are we living for? Haha! I live. For. This. Shit!**

 **O: We're gonna set up and go with the pride, it's like the clouds go during sunrise! We're gonna set up and go with the pride, it's like the clouds go during sunrise!**

 **Ca: Don't let your tears begin to fall, I will be screaming for you all the way!**

 **O: Whatever fell and tell right behind me. Won't stray me from my destiny!**

 **Ca: Your smile will never let me fall, with you behind me I'll go all the way.**

 **O: I'm gonna push it and make for you and me, all our failures rest in peace!**

 **Ca: I light my fire standing tall, my heart will keep on burning all the way!**

 **O: Nobody can put out my fire, get away. So, get back to a safe place.**

 **Ca: I'm never loose inside at all and I won't hesitate; go all the way!**

 **O: Don't blind your eyes if you've lost, yeah, I am gonna be your light!**

 **Ca: So, take my hand!**

The crowd erupted into cheers and whistles as Carmine and Onyx panted heavily together, Carmine wrapped his arms around Onyx and gave him a bear hug.

"Love you too, little brother." Onyx said as Carmine sat him down, Crimson chuckled "I forgot how much of a dynamic duo you two are when it comes to singing, Carmine's melodic vocals and Onyx's screaming makes for a powerful song." Crimson said as he wiped some blood off of his fingers.

"Encore! Encore! Encore!" The crowd chanted as they conversed with each other, Carmine and Onyx looked at each other "Let's not leave them waiting." Onyx said as he took his place.

Crimson and Onyx ran their hands up the necks of their guitars as Carmine walked up to the microphone.

 **The Crimson Bow and Arrow – Jonathan Young**

 **Ca: Are you the prey?!**

 **N, O, Cr: No, we are the hunters!**

 **All: Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, we are the hunters! Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, we are the hunters!**

 **Ca: Flowers with their names forgotten trampled into dust, they're fallen. Birds with broken wings are crying, wind can never take them flying. Waste your precious moments praying, but god's not here and nothing's changing. If you want to fix your fate, then change it with determination! Pigs will sneer at the steadfast as we climb over the dead, keep advancing ahead. Live your life in peace like you're just a sheep, but wolves will never lose their freedom.**

 **Ca, O, Cr: Sick of the cage, that's just the beginning! We're a disgrace until we're winning! Over the walls like hunters, we're fighting! They're not the predators anymore! Hungry to kill, you'll never forget this, piercing the sky with scarlet vengeance. Bloody the bow and arrow in crimson and rally the hunters to war!**

 **Ca: Draw the bow now, chase the prey now. Don't you let it get away, loose the arrow now, got it cornered now, never let it get away. String is tightening, arrow lightening, bow is just about to break. Endless volleying, hunters rallying 'till we execute the prey. It's not the weapon nor the skill that gives you strength to make the kill, no. You must be resolute, unbreakable, and definite in will, oh!**

 **All: We are the hunters - ever burning like a fire! We are the hunters - ever merciless and cold as ice! We are the hunters - Draw yourself into the arrow! We are the hunters - perseverant, we will pierce the skies!**

 **Gr: The attack on the titans, the boy of yore will soon take up the sword. One who despairs in his own helplessness cannot change the winds of fate, but the boy of yore will soon take up the dark sword. Hate & anger are a double-edged blade, the day will soon come when he bares his teeth against destiny.**

 **Ca:** **To those, reaching for a dream, chasing after more than just your life! If you ever will succeed, you will have to make your sacrifice! To think that any dream could be coming true, if you never take a single risk… So, step on up and take it, take it! Fool's indecision, just an illusion, maybe your reckless bravery. Liberty's pawn, they're pressing you on the shackled will ride to victory.**

 **Ca, O, Cr: Sick of the cage, that's just the beginning! We're a disgrace until we're winning! Over the walls like hunters, we're fighting! They're not the predators anymore! Hungry to kill, you'll never forget this, piercing the sky with scarlet vengeance. Bloody the bow and arrow in crimson and rally the hunters to war!**

Carmine backed away from the mic as the crowd cheered as they exited stage left and sat back down in the lounge area "Shit, I don't know about you guys, but I'm fucking tired." Carmine said as he wrapped his arm around Sapphire and pulled her in close.

"Let's go the fuck home and rest, start fresh in the morning." Onyx said as he stood up, the others stood up and followed him out, Crimson walked over to Miltia and kissed her goodbye before he ran out of the club and rejoined the group as they walked down the street with Phantom in tow.

"Give me your fucking purse, bitch!" A man yelled from down an alleyway, the group looked down the alley and saw a man holding a gun to a woman's face. The woman was terrified as she held her hands up and her entire body shook, Carmine looked at Phantom "Alright kid, show us what you got." Carmine said to the man in black, Phantom cracked his knuckles before he disappeared into a cloud of black smoke.

"Please, don't kill me. Please. Please." The woman said as she sobbed with tears running down her face, Phantom appeared out of a cloud of smoke and he quickly reached up from behind the man and flipped the pistol's safety on, ejected the magazine, and ripped it from his hand. "What the fuck?!" The man said as he turned around, he reached up quickly and grabbed the side of the man's head, he slammed it into his knee before he threw him into the brick wall.

"Are you hurt?" He asked the woman as the man groaned on the ground, she cradled her face as she cried softly "Thank you, who are you?" She asked as she wiped away the mascara that ran down her cheeks, Phantom chuckled "Just a guy trying to redeem himself." Phantom said as he walked back into the cloud of darkness.

He reappeared behind the Wolf Pack "Well, what did you think?" Phantom asked, Carmine wiggled his hand "Eight out of ten, minus two points for lack of flair." Carmine said, Onyx slugged him in the arm "You did great, kid." Onyx said as they walked down the street and Carmine rubbed his arm. Two Little Birds flew overhead as they walked down the dimly lit street, as they walked down the street, Carmine felt a voice echoing in the back of his head as if it were whispering to him, but this voice didn't belong to him.

' _How long will this last, Titan? How long can you keep up your façade? When will you break? Will it be when they all lay dead in front of you, their blood on your hands?'_ The voice asked, Carmine closed his eyes.

'This will be over when you're all dead, Loki. Now, get the fuck out of my head! And don't you ever call me Titan again!' Carmine yelled from within his mind, he heard the flutter of wings from within his mind. Phantom stared at him when he opened his eyes "She spoke to you, didn't she?" Phantom asked, Carmine nodded slowly.

As they walked, their gear clanged lightly against their bodies in the silent night. As they walked through the square, a cool breeze blew across the courtyard and bounced off their heavy body armor, only Sapphire shivered from the breeze. "Don't worry, we'll be back in a few minutes." Carmine said as they neared the HQ. Crimson and Nightshade looked at Phantom who followed them back toward the HQ "Alright, you'll be in the basement. There are a couple spare rooms down there." Crimson said as Onyx unlocked the front door to the HQ.

They walked into the HQ and closed the door behind them "While you went off toward Beacon, Crimson and Keppel drove the vehicles back here and parked them in the back." Onyx said as he unholstered his pistol and placed it on the table. Carmine nodded as he laid his G36 on the table in the armory and pulled his backpack off, he sat the bag on the table before he walked into his bedroom where Sapphire was sprawled out on the bed.

"Babe! Come to bed!" Sapphire pleaded as she laid on the king-sized mattress, Carmine chuckled "Let me get a shower first, I got blood, sweat, soot, and gunpowder on me." Carmine said as he unclipped his vest and sat it on the floor, he pulled off his hoodie and tossed it into a hamper along with his pants that were splotched with blood and his socks that were damp.

He climbed into the shower and turned the water on, the water hit his scarred body and melted away the blood and dirt from his body, it turned the white marble shower floor black and red as it was sucked into the drain. As Carmine washed his body, he winced in pain as he felt something sharp pain shoot through his leg, he looked down to see a small piece of black metal sticking out of his thigh. He turned the shower off and climbed out, he wrapped a towel around his waist before he walked out of the bathroom and called out to the living room "Guys! Medic!" Carmine yelled as walked out into the living room.

Onyx bounded the corner "What's up little br… holy shit! Are you okay?" Onyx asked as Carmine sat down in a chair, he took a deep breath "I guess the adrenaline wore off." Carmine said as Crimson and Nightshade walked up, Crimson shoved a rag into Carmine's mouth. Crimson and Onyx grabbed his arms and held them down as Nightshade grabbed the exposed part of the shrapnel.

"Alright, on three." Nightshade said, Carmine nodded "Alright, One." Nightshade said before he ripped the shrapnel from Carmine's thigh, blood sprayed out in a mist and coated the wall. Crimson pulled the cloth from Carmine's mouth and covered the gash in his leg. Nightshade looked at the piece of metal and flipped it over "Looks like a piece of rotor blade." Nightshade said before he tossed it onto the floor. The metal hit the ground with a clang as it bounced and spun on the hardwood floor.

Crimson wiped some of the blood away and revealed that the wound had already healed itself, Carmine stood up and walked back to his shower to finish it. Carmine finished his shower and got out, he pulled on a pair of boxers and gym shorts. Carmine exited the bathroom and climbed into bed next to Sapphire "Ohh, I'm so tired." Carmine said as he melted into his bed.

Sapphire wriggled up underneath his arms and draped he arm across his stomach "Shh, not talk now. Only dreams." She said as she buried her face into his chest. As he laid in bed with the love of his life in his arms, one thought echoed through his head.

' _When will you break? Will it be when they all lay dead in front of you, their blood on your hands?_ ' The voice of Loki echoed through his head, but he quickly shook from his head as he closed his eyes.

 ***The Next Day***

"Wake up!" Onyx yelled from the living room, Carmine slowly pulled himself out of bed and kissed Sapphire on the lips before he left his room. Carmine left his bedroom and closed the door behind him "Where's the fire?" He asked in a hushed tone, Onyx tossed him an energy drink. "Get dressed, we got an appointment with Mindaro." Onyx said, Carmine walked back into his room and pulled out a pair of black jeans out of his dresser, he pulled them on slowly, but he felt a pair of arms around abdomen.

He felt himself slowly being dragged back toward the bed "Shhhh. Just give in to my temptation." Sapphire said as she kissed him on the neck and sat him on the bed. "I can't, but you can go with me." Carmine said, Sapphire lit up and shot out of the bed to get dressed.

Carmine pulled on a pair of black high-top sneakers out of his closet and pulled them on along with a pair of socks, he pulled on a black long sleeve shirt as Sapphire exploded out of the bathroom wearing a black t-shirt, red flannel long sleeve shirt that only had a few buttons buttoned, and a pair of dark blue skinny jeans.

"God damn it, you always look so cute in anything." Carmine said as she put in a pair of earrings with upside down crosses, Carmine stood up and grabbed his wallet and scroll from the nightstand before the two left the bedroom together.

"You two ready?" Onyx asked as the two stood together by the doorway, Carmine nodded before Onyx led them out of the building. Sapphire's heels clicked on the brick as they walked down the strip, Onyx led them up to a store that had no name on the front of it.

He banged on the door hard until he heard voice "Yeah! Yeah! Keep your dick on." The man said before he opened the door and guided them inside. "Onyx! What can I do for you?" Mindaro asked as he walked around the counter, Onyx gestured to Carmine "I got you a new customer." Onyx said, Carmine stepped forward and looked at Mindaro.

"Alright, so I'm going to need a custom weapon, I had a Scar-H that had a v.4 ERGO Foregrip, ACOG Sight, thirty round magazine, green laser sight, a muzzle break, and an extended stock with shock absorption." Carmine said, Mindaro nodded before he turned around and pointed to a rifle on the wall "Like that one?" He asked, Carmine shook his head "I need it to be able to turn into a sword like a saber or falchion blade, I need to be able to block a sword swing. That's how I lost my other rifle." Carmine said, Mindaro nodded slowly "Alright, anything else?" He asked as he wrote down the request, Carmine thought for a moment.

"Oh, an MP7 combined with a Bowie knife, give the MP7 a muzzle break and a red dot sight." Carmine said as Mindaro wrote down the request. Mindaro nodded "Alright kid, give me a couple hours and give you a call when I got something for you." Mindaro said, Carmine nodded before the three left. The sun had crept into the sky and was almost at its peak "Close to noon, lunch?" Onyx said without checking his scroll, Sapphire pulled hers out and looked at the time "How did you know that?" She asked confused.

Carmine chuckled "Little trick we picked up along the way, it helps when we're deep in the shit and don't have our scrolls." Carmine said as he wrapped his arm around her waist. Carmine started humming to himself as they walked into a café, they sat by the window when the waitress walked up "Hello folks, can I start y'all out with something to drink?" She asked politely, Carmine looked up to her "Earl Grey Tea with Honey please." Carmine said, "Ceylon Burning Sun, please." Sapphire said, the waitress looked at Onyx "And for you, sir?" She asked politely.

"Dark Rose, please." Onyx said, Carmine started humming again as the waitress walked away, Sapphire looked at her boyfriend "What are you humming?" She asked confused, he chuckled lightly "Just the melody of a song I wrote for you." Carmine said as he played with a sugar packet.

"Well, can you sing it for me? There's a mic over there next to that piano." She said as she pointed toward a small stage with a microphone stand and a grand piano, Carmine shrugged before he stood up and walked over to the piano. He sat down on the bench and started to play the keys slowly, the deep notes echoed through the café and bounced off the walls.

 **Bulletproof – Ben Woodward**

 **Through the smoke, through the smoke. The sapphire in your eyes, pull me close, pull me close and keep me up all night and you know, you know I'm drunk on the vibing, we're moving fast, not going slow. This love that we fell in.**

 **I don't really care if the skies are falling, as long as I'm next to you And I don't really care if the wolves surround me 'Cause when I'm with you, I'm bulletproof. And if you ever said that you were leaving, I wouldn't know what to do. 'Cause when I'm with you, the wolves can't hurt me, Yeah when I'm with you I'm, When I'm with you I'm.**

Carmine let the melody in his head flow through his fingers into the keys of the piano, he slowly closed his eyes as he played and sang.

 **Through the years, through the years, no matter where we are, you know you'll be, know you'll be, forever in my heart.**

 **I don't really care if the skies are falling, as long as I'm next to you And I don't really care if the wolves surround me, 'Cause when I'm with you, I'm bulletproof. And if you ever said that you were leaving, I wouldn't know what to do, 'Cause when I'm with you, the wolves can't hurt me yeah when I'm with you I'm, when I'm with you I'm.**

The piano chords sounded almost angelic as they played through the cozy café, Sapphire's smile caused Carmine's heart to flutter and sore like an eagle from the top of a mountain. He bobbed his head as he played slowly, he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up as he played the lighter notes.

 **I don't really care if the skies are falling As long as I'm next to you And I don't really care if the wolves surround me 'Cause when I'm with you, I'm bulletproof And if you ever said that you were leaving I wouldn't know what to do 'Cause when I'm with you, The wolves can't hurt me Yeah when I'm with you I'm, when I'm with you I'm. I don't really care if the skies are falling as long as I'm next to you. And I don't really care if the wolves surround me, 'Cause when I'm with you, I'm bulletproof. When I'm with you, I'm bulletproof. When I'm with you, I'm bulletproof.**

Carmine played the melody slower and eventually stopped, he opened his eyes and looked out over the café, there wasn't a patron with a dry eye in the café. Sapphire covered her mouth as tears formed in her eyes. "I love you, Carmine. I will never stop loving you, you're the man of my dreams and I'm so glad I bumped into you." Sapphire said before she ran on stage and threw herself into his arms.

He caught her and held her tightly as she cried into his shoulder, Onyx clapped lightly "Way to go, little bro. You destroyed the game for every other guy here." He said sarcastically. Carmine returned to the table as their tea arrived and they enjoyed a nice lunch while they discussed life and Carmine and Sapphire displayed sickening amounts of affection.

After a while, Carmine got a message on his scroll 'Weapons are ready. – M' Carmine read the message to himself before he looked up at Onyx "They're ready." Carmine said before Onyx tossed down a red lien card. The trio walked back to the gun store where Mindaro greeted them with open arms, and a Glock on his hip.

"Alright chief, I got them set up for you. Here's the SCAR-H with all the components you asked for, made with Tungsten, Chromium, and Titanium, I also had it dyed black, you have no idea how hard it is to dye metal. There isn't anything in the world that can destroy this thing aside from the god damn sun." Mindaro said as Carmine pulled back the bolt and observed the chamber. "Hit that button on the stock." Mindaro said, Carmine pressed the button and watched as the rifle quickly transformed into a sword with a medium sized blade.

"Got the falchion style blade you asked for, and since the blade is also made of Tungsten, Chromium, and Titanium, you won't lose a sword fight ever again." Mindaro said before Carmine converted it back to its rifle variant and placed it in a large black case.

"And here's the MP7 you requested." Mindaro said as he placed a black SMG on the counter, Carmine picked it up and looked down the red dot sight as he held the foregrip, he pressed a button on the right side of the handle and converted it into a large knife. He flipped it upside down and held it close to his body. "Let me guess, also made of Tungsten, Chromium, and Titanium?" Carmine asked curiously, Mindaro grinned and chuckled a little bit "Only the best for the Wolves, you come back whenever you need anything." Mindaro said as Carmine placed the SMG into a medium sized case with a few extra magazines.

"Thanks, Mindaro, you're the best." Onyx said as they walked out of the shop, Mindaro nodded "I know I'm great." Mindaro said as he stroked his own ego. The trio walked back to the HQ but ran into Keppel who was with a woman with blonde hair and a little girl with blonde hair and black wolf ears.

"Oh, hey Keppel, what are you up to?" Carmine asked curiously, Keppel turned and saw the three walking toward him. "Oh, hey guys! Just enjoying a day out with my family, Dahlia, this is Carmine, his girlfriend, Sapphire, and his brother Onyx. Guys, this is my wife Dahlia, and my daughter, Jade." Keppel said as the little girl hid behind Keppel's leg.

Carmine knelt done in front of them "It's alright sweetie, don't be scared. There's nothing to be afraid of." Carmine said in a light-hearted tone of voice. Jade slowly came out from behind her father's leg "Hi Cawmine." She said, Onyx suppressed laughter within himself. Sapphire hugged Dahlia "Ooh girl, you look so cute. Trying to show off for your man?" Dahlia asked as she complimented Sapphire.

Sapphire blushed a little "Yeah, I wanted to spoil him a bit." Sapphire said, Carmine chuckled "Babe, you spoil me all the time." Carmine said as he stood up. Keppel chuckled "So, what are y'all up to?" The sniper asked, Carmine shrugged "Just picked up a new rifle, this one is almost indestructible. I also got an MP7 as a secondary." Carmine said as he wiggled the boxes in his hands.

They conversed amongst themselves for a bit, then went their separate ways "I meet back up with you guys." Keppel said as he disappeared into a crowd with his family, his wolf ears twitched within the mess of black hair.

They arrived back at the HQ and went inside, they were surprised to find Titus, Aero, and Harlequin standing in the main room with Crimson and Nightshade.

"We got some news, guys. Astaroth sang like a songbird, we know where the Iron Hammer is." Titus said, Carmine's eyes went wide. 'Finally, let's cut the head off this snake.' Carmine thought to himself as Aero tossed down an envelope.

 **A/N: Whooooo! Here we go! In this corner with the weight** **of the world on their shoulders, the Wolf Pack. And in this corner, sporting enough felonies to be burned at the stake, multiple murders, rape, kidnapping, and terrorism, the Grimm Reapers. Are you ready? Are you ready? Fight!**

 **It's heating up fast, what will happen? Stay tuned! Remember to Favorite, Follow, and Review, as always, this Nightmare 6-4, Signing off.**


	9. Chapter 9: Operation Vega Dawn (Part 1)

Ch. 9 – Operation Vega Dawn

 **I do not own RWBY, RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum (R.I.P.) nor do I own any media that may appear in the story. I only own the OCs, Enjoy! Remember to Favorite, Follow, and leave a Review.**

"The fuck is this?" Carmine asked as he picked up the envelope and pulled out a series of pictures as Titus lowered his head "At approximately 10 am this morning, the Reapers made a move. A move that put the proverbial knife to their fucking throats. Thank god Duke and The Devils were there to respond." Titus said as a man walked out of the shadows and lit a cigar, he walked up to Onyx and Carmine before he shook their hands "Duke Winters, proud to be working with you boys." Duke said, Carmine chuckled "Likewise." Carmine said as he let go of Duke's hand.

Carmine placed the photos on the table as he spread them out and slowly observed them, Sapphire covered her mouth as she looked on in horror at the photos that showed numerous bodies that littered the floor. "What happened?" Onyx asked as he crossed his arms, Duke took a drag from his cigar and exhaled slowly "Well, we got managed to capture one of the shooters and interrogated him on everything he knew, he told us everything that happened. Down to the last detail." Duke said as he started to recount the events from earlier.

 **Earlier, Vega Civic Center - Comic Con.**

Hundreds of people filled the civic center and intermingled with one another as the patrons browsed the merchandise and snapped pictures with the cosplayers who were dressed up in scantily clad outfits that were borderline lewd to say the least. A girl stood in line while she held a photo of a woman who was dressed in lingerie "Oh my god, I can't believe I'm gonna meet Nella Magnolia!" She said with an excited squeal as her friend nodded "Yeah, her cosplay really inspired me to design and cosplay as well." Her friend said as she posed in her Junko cosplay from Danganronpa. "Calli, you can pull off that outfit perfectly. I can't however, I tried to do Aoi Asahina from Danganronpa, but I didn't get tan enough." The girl said as she put herself down, Calli put her hand on the girl's shoulder "Shelly, you pulled it off perfectly. Now, let's meet Nella." Calli said as they were almost at the front.

"H-Hi Nella, it's an honor to meet you. Your cosplay inspired both of us to get involved and we were so excited to meet you." Shelly said as they shook Nella's hand. "I'm so glad I made a difference and helped you get involved in what makes you happy. Can I sign your photo?" Nella asked as she uncapped a sharpie, Calli took the photo from Shelly and handed it to Nella who quickly signed it. "Here you go, girls. Remember to stay true to yourself and do what makes you happy." Nella said to the two girls before they giggled and walked back into the flow of the crowd.

"Oh my god, I can't believe I met her!" Shelly said excitedly as she slipped the picture into her souvenir bag that said 'Vega Comic Con' on the side. "Alright Calli, what do you want to do now?" Shelly asked before she turned to see her friend standing still as she stared at something off in the distance "Calli, what is it?" Shelly asked with a concerned smile as she walked up to her friend and looked in the direction Calli was staring.

Shelly saw six large heavily armored men stand at the main entrance as they held LMGs, a woman brushed her hair as it changed from black to a reflective silver as she walked up next to them. A security guard stood up and confronted them "Excuse me, you're gonna have to check those props in." The guard said, the woman smiled as she pulled out a FN Five-Seven and shot the guard in the head as she stared at the growing crowd, the back of the guard's head exploded as brain matter and blood splattered on the window behind him. Shelly looked at the other exits and saw more armed men with assault rifles in their hands "Everyone run!" A voice yelled from within the crowd as the LMGs and assault rifles opened fire into the crowd. Bullets ripped through the bodies of the patrons who scattered in every direction, Shelly grabbed Calli by the wrist before the two ran deeper into the civic center. Bullets whizzed by her head as bodies dropped to the floor in puddles of blood, some cosplayers laid slain on their tables as their lifeless eyes stared at the roof.

Shelly looked back and saw some female cosplayers being bound and gagged as others were held down to the floor while their assailants had their way with them. Screams and cries were almost drowned out by the claps of gunfire that echoed throughout the civic center. Loki laughed as she fired her pistol at a few people who ran past her, a cosplayer drug herself across the floor as blood leaked from a wound in her leg. Loki knelt next to the woman and looked at the her that displayed sheer terror. Tear Gas canisters were thrown into small rooms in which some people hid, they came out coughing and rubbing their eyes before they were lit up, their bodies slammed against the wall and slouched to the floor, which left blood streaks on the wall.

Loki brushed the hair out the woman's face as she examined her face "So, I take it you're Nella?" Loki asked as she looked over that the kiosk that had the woman's face on the banner along with the name 'Nella Magnolia'. "Well, I must say. I love your eyes." Loki said as she opened a switchblade. Shelly flung open a closet door and pulled Calli into the small room while she was still in shock. "Shhh. You have to stay quiet." Shelly said in a hushed tone as her voice shook from fear. Calli cried quietly while Shelly held her tightly.

Nella shook in fear as Loki lowered the switchblade toward the cosplayer's face but stopped when an explosion rocked the building. Smoke grenades and flashbangs were tossed into the civic center before multiple armed men ran into the now smoke-filled room "Tango twelve o'clock! We're hot! Fire at will!" A voice yelled before the heavily armed Reapers dropped one by one as men with red masks with devil horns ran in, one of the gunners took a blade to the throat before his jugular was slit while the others were eliminated. Loki tossed her blade as she bolted through the crowd, she flung a door open and caught a round to the shoulder as she ran out the civic center.

After a while, the gunfire had stopped and replaced by the sound of heavy boots on the tile floor and radio chatter "Charlie 3 – 8 roger, sector 2 is clear." The radio said outside the closet that Shelly and Calli hid in, the door was flung open and Shelly was met with the tac light from the rail of the man's H&K 416 "It's safe now." The man said as he extended his hand to the two girls, the girls were hesitant at first but slowly emerged from the closet to behold the carnage. "Oh god!" Shelly said as she covered her mouth, paramedics rushed around the civic center as other armed men snapped pictures of the massacre.

Nella sat against the wall as she held her knees close to her chest as she wrapped a thermal blanket around herself. A paramedic tended to her wounds as Shelly and Calli slowly approached her "I'm glad to see you're safe, Nella." Shelly said as she knelt in front of the cosplayer who cried into a tissue, Nella sat up and wrapped her arms around Shelly and Calli "I'm so glad you girls are safe." Nella said as the three women started to cry. Three armed men slowly the trio "Excuse me ladies, my name is Duke Winters. I was hoping I could have a word with you." Duke said, the three women broke from their embrace and conversed with Duke as the bodies were placed into body bags and zipped up.

 **Back in the Wolves' Den**

"Those mother fuckers will PAY for this. God damn it! We got careless but thank god you were there." Carmine said as he cracked his knuckles in anger. Duke nodded "Calli, Nella, and Shelly were checked out by the paramedics. Nella was escorted back to Atlas while Calli and Shelly are safe here in Vale. We took multiple eyewitness accounts of the mayhem and managed to capture two of the fourteen assailants. Bad part is that we killed nine Reapers, which means that three got away with the women that were bound and gagged." Duke explained, Carmine shook his head in anger.

"So, do we hit another one of their bunkers?" Carmine asked but Duke shook his head "Well, we took out most of their bases, all but one. It's still here in Vale, it's south of Vega so they most likely fled there. So, if we intend on striking and freeing those women, then we better act fast before they are shipped out. Once they move them again, we'll never see them again." Duke explained, Carmine clapped his hands together "Then let's go rescue them!" Carmine said as he stood up, but Aero tossed down a paper that had a blueprint on it.

"I pulled this from the files and it's apparently called 'R-H7Q – Mammoth', if they have this then it'll be another threat that needs to be culled." Aero said as everyone observed the blueprints of a large truck with a trailer attached behind it. The diagram displayed a long trailer with multiple mounted guns that pointed out the side of the trailer, it had two large quad barreled .50 caliber HMGs, and two eight pod missile launchers. The design had a large barrel jutting out the back of the trailer that had 'FT' written next to it.

"So, onto the main subject at hand: The Iron Hammer. We have determined that it is getting closer and it's southwest of Vale." Titus said as he displayed the map on his scroll. "So, here's what we do, we go in hard! Shock and Awe, we find the Mammoth and destroy it before we race back here and fortify for the arrival of The Iron Hammer." Onyx said as he stood up and formulated a plan. Harlequin tossed down her scroll and projected a diagram of a large airship that had four propulsion jets, multiple turrets, drop pod compartments, 360-degree missile turrets, and a cargo bay section. "Well boys, if you'll join me in 'Phantom Fury', we'll do reconnaissance from above and knock 'The Mammoth' into extinction… again." Harlequin said as she paused for a moment as she thought about her metaphor. Onyx laughed "We'd love to." Onyx said as Keppel walked through the doorway.

"Alright, who's trying to start shit now?" Keppel asked as he rubbed his hands together. "Oh, you know, just the group who hates their own existence." Crimson said as he walked out of the armory. "So, I've got an idea! So, we recon the area and do a couple strafe runs on the base, then we'll repel in and meet up with The Devil's Disciples to take out the bunker, meanwhile the 184th will set up a blockade to take out any fleeing Reapers. Once we finish, we'll haul ass back to Vale to fortify our defenses." Onyx said he created a course of action.

Titus laughed "So we get to be the blockade? I love it!" Titus exclaimed as he pulled out his scroll and placed a call. "So, the chinooks will fly in and we'll repel from them while the side guns open fire, we suspect that this is the last bunker that Cerberus was at so expect resistance. I expect there to be resistance in the form of Nevermores, Beowolves, and Griffons." Onyx explained as he zoomed in on the location in question.

Sapphire took Carmine's hand and pulled him into his bedroom before she closed the door, she sat on the bed and took his hand in hers "Babe, what's wrong?" Carmine asked as she rubbed her thumb across the top of his hand. She was silent for a moment as she gathered her words "I… I don't want you to go, at least… not yet." Sapphire said in a somber voice, Carmine sat down on the bed next to her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Babe, you know I've got to do this and since we have so much back up, we'll be fine. Hell, Harlequin will stay here with you if you want." Carmine explained, Sapphire showed a half smile "I know you gotta do what you gotta do, I just worry about you. Just… come back to me, please." Sapphire said as she wrapped her arm around Carmine's arm. Carmine chuckled "You know I always do." Carmine said as he stood up and kissed her on the lips.

Carmine quickly got dressed and threw his gear on in a matter of minutes, exchanging jeans for tactical pants and t-shirts for a Kevlar hoodie and a Heavy IBA. He slipped his boots on and zipped up the sides of them before he slipped the pants leg over them as Sapphire tightened the sides of his IBA and helped him with his tactical belt. Carmine adjusted his gear before he left his room to rejoin the brief, he looked over at the living room where Aero had turned on the TV to the news.

A banner flashed across the screen that read 'Breaking News' before the news anchor showed up on screen "Breaking news, multiple prison breaks have been reported throughout Remnant with two happening in Vale four days ago. Atlas military and other Police Departments could not be reached for comment but did say that they were handling it. In other news, Pyrrha Nikos of Argus has moved on to the final round of the Mistral Region Tournament, if she wins then this would be Miss Nikos' fourth consecutive win." The news anchor said before Aero shut the TV off again.

"They're building their forces again, after that huge defeat at the docks, I bet they're getting desperate." Titus said with a chuckle. He sat his scroll down on the table and projected multiple vehicle holograms "Alright so the 184th is bringing in four LAV-25s, four BTR-4s, and four IVECO LMVs. We'll have forces push through and post up in the trees and around the bunker." Titus explained as the holograms changed to a map that showed multiple chinooks carrying APCs flying toward Vale.

"Alright guys let's load up! Harlequin, do you mind staying back with Sapphire?" Carmine asked as he adjusted his IBA, Harlequin nodded "Sure, I'll stay back with the little lady." Harlequin said before Carmine and Onyx led her to the operations room. Onyx pressed a few buttons on the keyboard and brought all the monitors to life "Just call me your eye in the sky." Harlequin said as she sat down in one of the chairs, other Vipers walked in and sat down next to Harlequin.

"Guys, this is my head of intelligence, Jay. He'll be going by 'Overlord' for this operation which we'll be calling 'Operation Vega Dawn'." Harlequin said as she introduced Jay to them. Jay proceeded to sync their scrolls to a single database "Right, so now we can monitor all of your vitals, your position, and we'll also monitor what you see." Jay said as he handed Onyx and Carmine a couple boxes that had shoulder mounted cameras.

Carmine and Onyx walked out of the operation center and into the armory where he sat the boxes down on the table. The other Wolves walked in and prepped their gear, they took out the cameras and attached them to their shoulders, Jay called out from the operations center "Looking good!" Jay yelled as each feed was connected to the screen with each mercenaries' name under each feed.

"Hey Crimson! Throw something on while get ready!" Onyx yelled from within the armory, Crimson plugged his scroll in and tapped play on the media player.

 **The Pale Rider – The Heavy Horses**

As the joint ops prepped their gear, the sound of an acoustic guitar and banjo came over the speakers. Carmine slipped his Ka-Bar into the sheath on the left side of his chest, Crimson slapped a fresh magazine into a Minebea PM-9 that he put into the holster on his side. Keppel picked out a Remington M2010 ESR and slammed a magazine with AP rounds into the receiver and pulled back the bolt to chamber a round.

 **Ride to town, shoot 'em up and keep on going, 'Cause I got a job to do and I don't stop for no one. So get your gun, and kiss your wife, and lock up your daughter, don't let her fall in love with the pale rider.**

Onyx picked up an AK-12 and attached an ACOG sight to the top rail before he attached a foregrip to the handguard and a laser sight to the side rail "No AK-74 today?" Carmine asked as he placed a magazine into his front pouch, Onyx shook his head "Nah, giving the old girl some rest." Onyx said as he inserted a fresh mag into the receiver and pulled back the bolt.

 **Many men have quickly found I'm unforgiving, they say dying ain't no way to make a living. So get your gun and bet your life, if you're a gambler, you draw a dead man's hand against the pale rider.**

"Alright boys! Let's get one thing straight! This isn't a small fight we're in, this is war! You encounter the enemy, you eliminate with extreme aggression." Onyx explained as he slipped a P226 into his side holster. "Hey, should we alert Ironwood to the current situation?" Carmine asked, Duke stepped forward and let out a slight laugh "Yeah, that's the first thing we did." Duke explained, Onyx crossed his arms "And?" He asked as anger built in his voice. "And they said there's no threat." Duke said, Carmine shot out of the armory "Bullshit, they arrested Alastor back in Mt. Glenn!" Carmine exclaimed.

 **And I walked down into Vacuo, what I came for I think you know. I take another life, it's all the same, it's one more killing to the man that has no name.**

"Yeah, I gave them his real name and they said that name doesn't exist in any of the databases." Duke explained, Onyx scoffed and chuckled "Those mother fuckers are already cleaning house. They're sweeping this shit under the rug." Onyx said with a chuckle. "So, what do we do?" Keppel asked as he adjusted the sights on his ESR, Onyx clenched his fist "We do what we signed up to do, we protect the people of Remnant, regardless of 'red tape'. We kick their ass so other people can go home to their families at the end of the day. We do what Atlas won't, we confront the enemy and live to tell the tale." Onyx said to the entire room before he was met with a resounding 'Hell Yeah!' from the member of the JSO (Joint Special Operations) team.

 **So ride to town, shoot 'em up and keep on going, cause I got a job to do and I'll be gone come morning. So get your gun, and kiss your wife and hug your daughter, tell her you're off to meet the pale rider. Don't let her fall in love with the pale rider.**

 **And I walked down into Vacuo, what I came for I think you know. I take another life, it's all the same, it's one more killing to the man that has no name, it's one more bullet to the man that has no name.**

Grullo picked up an M240B Medium Machine Gun and sat it on the table "Nightshade, pass me a box of 7.62 x 51mm." Grullo said before Nightshade slid two large metal boxes across the table. Grullo connected the detachable box to the MMG and fed the chain into the receiver before he cocked back the bolt. "Guys! Predator drone is flying over the bunker now." Harlequin said as she brought the feed up on the large TV. She flicked a switch that changed the camera to a FLIR camera that illuminated multiple white dots in a sea of black that was the forest "Those aren't Grimm since they don't produce heat. I'm counting maybe thirty or forty tangos, looks like there are snipers in the tree line." Harlequin explained, Duke pointed to the bottom of the screen "The Disciples are moving in from the south." Duke said as he pointed to fifteen flashing strobes pushing through the trees from the south.

"TOC, this is Brimstone. We're pushing into the Apex of the bunker, how copy?" The operators asked, Duke clicked a button on his chest "This is TOC, we copy and have eyes on you. Proceed with infiltration of breakout." Duke said before the blinking dots moved deeper into the forest. The members of the JSO watched as more non-blinking white dots popped up in the forest ahead of Brimstone, Duke pressed the button again "Brimstone, this is TOC. Be advised, we are seeing more tangos popping up on the drone feed. Proceed with interdiction and eliminate with extreme prejudice." Duke said through the mic on his chest.

They all watched carefully as the blinking dots moved in further and fanned out, some of the solid white dots disappeared quickly before they reappeared behind Brimstone. Duke frantically grabbed for his mic "Brimstone, be advised. Multiple tangos have appeared behind you, how copy?" Duke said before they watched some of the blinking dots disappear one by one.

"TOC, it's an ambush! I repeat, it's an ambush!" Brimstone yelled before their feed was replaced by static. Sapphire covered her mouth as everyone watched in horror "What the hell was that? They just disappeared and reappeared." Duke said as he stood in a stunned silence. "That had to have been the shadow soldiers that were in the base in Vacuo." Carmine said as he stared at the screen.

Duke looked at the joint operatives that filled the room with a combination of anger and determination "We need to move, and we need to move, now!" Duke exclaimed, everyone nodded as they got back to work arming themselves. Nightshade picked up an AA-12 and slammed a drum mag into the receiver before he pulled back the bolt on top of the shotgun, Crimson grabbed his Sig SG 550 and attached an ACOG sight to the top rail along with an angled foregrip to the underside of the handguard.

Aero opened a folded compound bow and refolded it before he placed it on his lower back, he picked a quiver off the table and adjusted the tip selector at the bottom of the quiver, he adjusted the size of the quiver and inserted more arrow bodies into the quiver. Grullo picked up a Remington 870 and tossed it to Grizz who was standing in the corner, Grizz caught it and cocked it before he placed it on his back and picked his chainsaw up off the floor. Bubba walked through the back door while he was followed by two guys in balaclavas and molle vests who carried M16a4s.

"These guys with you, Duke?" Bubba asked, Duke nodded "Yeah, these are my new recruits, Reggie and Sweets. Boys, this is the Wolf Pack. That's Titus, Aero, Grizz, and Bubba of the 184th Mistral Militia, and that's Harlequin of the Viper Legion." Duke said as he introduced everyone. As they talked, the song changed to a heavier song and played through the speakers.

 **Indestructible – Disturbed**

"We will give them no quarter and will show them no mercy. The Reapers die TONIGHT!" Carmine exclaimed, everyone cheered as they prepped their gear.

 **Another mission, the powers have called me away. Another time to carry the colors again, my motivation an oath I've sworn to defend, to win the honor of coming back home again. No explanation will matter after we begin, unlock the dark destroyer that's buried within. My true vocation and now my unfortunate friend, you will discover a war you're unable to win.**

"Wolves, when you're ready, the Phantom Fury is overhead. You'll take a VTOL to her and make your way to the bunker. You'll be meeting with my second in command, Luna." Harlequin said, Onyx and Carmine nodded as Carmine slapped a fresh mag into his Scar-H.

 **I'll have you know that I've become!**

 **Indestructible determination that is incorruptible from the other side. A terror to behold, annihilation will be unavoidable. Every broken enemy will know, that their opponent had to be invincible. Take a last look around while you're alive, I'm an indestructible master of war.**

"How could this have gotten so bad? Why is Atlas refusing to do anything?!" Carmine asked as he loaded his MP7, Onyx chuckled "I don't know, guess we'll have to have a long talk with pops." Onyx said, Carmine stared at him as if he had just shot a priest. Onyx looked over at Carmine who stared at his brother "What's up, little bro?" Onyx asked, Carmine shook his head "So, Ironwood is our dad?" Carmine asked, Onyx shook his head "No, he took us in after our actual parents died in an accident. You were too young to remember it." Onyx explained, the memories leaked into Carmine's mind of Onyx carrying him as an infant away from a smoldering wreck.

 **Another reason, another cause for me to fight. Another fuse uncovered now, for me to light. My dedication to all that I've sworn to protect, I carry out my orders without a regret. A declaration embedded deep under my skin, a permanent reminder of how it began. No hesitation when I am commanded to strike. You need to know that you're in for the fight of your life.**

"That doesn't answer the question though, with all this chaos happening, I'm sure the media or the people in general would have to have noticed all of this." Carmine said as he grabbed his gas mask and clipped it to his belt. Crimson shook his head "When you control the media, you tell the masses whatever you want them to hear." Crimson said as he placed his Ka-Bar into its sheath.

 **You will be shown how I've become!**

 **Indestructible determination that is incorruptible from the other side. A terror to behold, annihilation will be unavoidable. Every broken enemy will know, that their opponent had to be invincible. Take a last look around while you're alive, I'm an indestructible master of war.**

"It's crazy to think that I'm fighting an all-out war at just 18, mom and dad would probably be furious." Carmine said with a chuckle, Onyx patted his little brother on the back as he picked up some grenades from a box on the table. "You know, I heard that some semblances are hereditary, so I wonder if I got mine from dad?" Carmine asked as he placed the grenade into his pouch on his side, Onyx shrugged and grabbed two grenades from the box.

 **Indestructible, determination that is incorruptible, from the other side a terror to behold. Annihilation will be unavoidable; every broken enemy will know that their opponent had to be invincible take a last look around while you're alive. I'm an indestructible, indestructible!**

 **Indestructible determination that is incorruptible from the other side. A terror to behold, annihilation will be unavoidable. Every broken enemy will know, that their opponent had to be invincible. Take a last look around while you're alive, I'm an indestructible master of war.**

"Alright, let's head out! Wolves will take to the sky while the 184th and the Disciples will haul ass there, we'll wait for you boys to arrive before we start our assault on the bunker itself. Meanwhile we'll eliminate the forces in the forest." Duke said as he rested an ARX-160 on his shoulder. Everyone nodded and made a beeline for the door, once they got out of the HQ, the Wolves took off sprinting toward the air docks. "MOVE! MAKE WAY!" Onyx and Carmine yelled at the crowd of people who quickly moved to create path for them, meanwhile the 184th and Disciples climbed into multiple Humvees and sped off toward the forest.

The Wolves climbed into a VTOL that had an ouroboros snake on the side of it "You boys the Wolf Pack?" The pilot asked, Onyx nodded as he sat down. The back of the air ship closed before it took off into the sky "Alright boys, we're coming up on the Phantom Fury now." The pilot said as Carmine and Onyx looked out the front window but saw nothing, suddenly a shimmer rippled across the sky as a large airship uncloaked itself.

The airship had four pivoting thrusters, multiple gun emplacements, 360 rocket pods, bomb bay doors, and drop pods near the middle of the ship. The side of the ship opened as the VTOL flew into the hanger on board the Phantom Fury, the Wolves jumped out of the VTOL and were quickly escorted to the bridge where a woman with white hair and heterochromatic eyes stood, her eyes were a combination of emerald green and topaz amber. "Ahh, you boys must be the Wolf Pack." The woman said, Onyx nodded "And I guess you're Luna?" Onyx asked, the woman nodded back "Luna Lovefield at your service." Luna said with a curtsy, Crimson raised his hand "I'll take you up on that offer." Crimson said with a smirk before Grullo slapped him in the back of the head.

"Right, so if you boys will man those terminals over there, we'll disembark." Luna said as she gestured to a wall of terminals in the corner. Carmine, Onyx, and Keppel took three on the right side while Crimson, Nightshade, and Grullo took the three on the left. "Pico! Hit it!" Luna yelled before the ship bucked as the thrusters activated and went into overdrive. As the Phantom Fury raced across the sky, alarms started blaring "Incoming Grimm!" Pico yelled from the pilot's chair. Luna laughed "Alright boys, you're up. Let those guns ring!" Luna exclaimed as the weapon system came online.

The terminal screens flicked on and displayed the ground below and a horde of Nevermore's that filled the sky. The mounted Vulcans came online and started to rain 30mm hellfire while rockets shot out of the turrets and chased their target through the air before they exploded, the Nevermore's exploded in the air as the Phantom Fury flew through the sky. A Nevermore strafed the side of the airship before it banked under the ship and knocked out one of the guns "Shit! We lost one!" Crimson yelled as he changed the feed to another gun. The casings rained down from above as the guns spit out continuous fire and multiple rockets exploded in the air as they hit the Grimm.

"Alright boys! Let the AI take over, y'all get to the drop pods!" Luna said as a face popped up on the monitors and winked at them. The Wolves shot up and ran down the hall toward a room marked 'Drop pods', they walked in and looked at the open pods "Man, this looks like the opening scene to Halo 2. You know when the chief drops in on those covey fucks." Crimson said as he sat his rifle inside the pod and climbed in afterward. Onyx looked at the armory that was on the wall and grabbed an RPG off the wall "Here's a Dard 120, have fun." Onyx said as he handed the rocket launcher to Crimson who laughed and happily took it.

Everyone climbed into their pods and closed the doors "We're all ready." Onyx said through the intercom, the feed buzzed before it clicked again "Roger that. Happy hunting, Wolves." Luna said before the pods shot out of the bottom of the air ship, the pods screamed through the sky as they rocketed toward the ground. Metal parachutes shot out of the tops and slowed their descent before they slammed into the ground, Carmine pulled the cord on the roof and blew the door off the pod before he jumped out and raised his rifle.

Crimson jumped out with his rifle in one hand and the Dard 120 in the other "Come get some, chuckle fucks!" Crimson yelled with a combination of enthusiasm and anger. The Wolf Pack looked around the forest but were met with silence mixed with the occasional claps of gunfire from above. "Alright boys, we saw your entry. Make your way two clicks north." Titus's voice said through their earpieces. The last pod door blew off before Grullo stepped out and gripped his M240b "Let's go kick their teeth down their throat." Grullo said as he carried the LMG with the barrel pointed toward the ground.

The group moved slowly through the tree line as they kept their head on a swivel, "Keep your eyes open for tripwires." Onyx said as scanned the base of the trees he passed, as they walked through the forest, they heard the familiar sound of engines rumbling. As they emerged from the forest, two BTR-4s drove past them as the APCs disappeared into the forest.

"Hey boys, glad you could make it to the party." Titus said as he walked out from under a tent that was being set up. "What's the situation look like?" Onyx asked, Titus chuckled "Well, they put up one hell of a fight, but they retreated back into the base and locked it down. Whatever's in here, they don't want us to see it." Titus explained as more gunshots rang out from within the forest. "This place is fortified, it's not like any of the other bunkers. This one is… this one is special. We found a hatch and are prepping a breach system as we speak." Titus explained as they walked up to where the Disciples were boring into the ground around a concrete slab with a metal hatch in the middle, they slowly slid multiple Semtex charges down into the bored holes and connected the wires together.

"Alright, y'all step back. This is gonna be fucking loud." One of the Disciples said, the name 'Nightwalker' was written on a patch on the front of his Molle vest. Everyone quickly moved behind cover before Nightwalker clicked the detonator, all twelves charges clicked from red to green before they exploded in a massive explosion that ripped through the ground below and evaporated the concrete foundation, the explosion rocked the ground as a huge plume of smoke and dust covered the area.

"Carp! You're up!" Duke yelled before a man shot up and put his hands together, a swift wind current rushed through the forest and caused the cloud of dust and smoke to dissipate. The Joint Task Force emerged from behind cover and inspected the giant crater "Walker, how much Semtex did you use?" Duke asked, Nightwalker shrugged "About nine lbs." Nightwalker said. Suddenly sirens blared and red warning lights flashed from within the now breached bunker, Nightshade chuckled "You think they know we're here?" He asked sarcastically as Carp and Nightwalker started to set up repel lines.

"Alright boys remember, we don't fear the reaper." Titus said as he latched the rope to his belt, the others followed suit before they lowered themselves into the bunker. Chunks of concrete and rebar clicked against the concrete floor as the boots of the mercenaries hit the floor, the Disciples raised their weapons and pointed them down the hall while the 184th aimed the other way down the other hall. "Clear." Nightwalker said as he took a knee next to the wall. "Lights on." Titus said before they clicked the tactical light on the end of their weapons on, one by one, the lights illuminated the dark corridor. "Overlord, how copy?" Carmine asked as he pressed his ear piece after he disconnected the repel line.

"We read you five by five." Overlord said through their intercoms. "10-4 Overlord, JSO is moving deeper." Titus said as he gripped his M4 close to his chest, the feed clicked slightly as the static buzzed. "Roger JSO, good hunting." Overlord said before the feed went silent. "JSO?" Carp asked as he gripped a Benelli M4 and pointed it down range. "Joint Special Operations, this threat is so massive that we have to come together to confront it. Honestly, I think we should keep it like this, this cooperative agreement." Duke said as he pushed the buttstock into his shoulder, everyone nodded before they slowly started to move down the hall.

"Y'all go ahead, we're going to go cut off their escape routes." Titus said before he slowly pulled himself up the repel rope and back outside. "Remember, check your corners. This is their last line of defense; a cornered rat will fight back." Onyx said as they walked into a more open corridor, the lights flickered as they illuminated the area as the operatives clicked their lights off. "So, where are we?" Crimson asked as he looked around the room as he walked around slowly, a deep cackle echoed from the corners of the room "Just where I want you." A dark voice said as black smoke filled the area, shadow soldiers slowly emerged from the floor and surrounded the JSO Operatives.

"Shit, this is bad. What do we do?" Reggie asked as he backed up slowly. "Find the real one." A voice said from behind them, the group turned around to see Phantom walking out of a cloud of black smoke while he held a Spas -12 in his hands. Reggie gripped his rifle and dashed forward as he shot at each of the shadow soldiers, but his bullets passed through them, "Wait! Get back!" Phantom yelled but his warning came too late as the operatives watched as the black smoke forced its way down Reggie's throat, Reggie stood in an almost catatonic state as blood slowly leaked from his eyes and out of his nose, the sound of bones cracking emanated from Reggie's body before his entire body exploded, sending chunks of flesh, tissue, meat, and bone flying all around the room, a shadow soldier stood in his place, this one having the same features as Reggie.

"This is the work of Mamba, I called him Predator, since his semblance allows him to project a shadow form of anyone he's ever killed. These shadow soldiers, they are copies of all of his victims." Phantom explained as the shadows lined up next to each other. "So, what do we do?" Crimson asked as he raised his rifle, Phantom sighed "We need to find Mamba, but he could be literally anywhere." Phantom said, Carmine looked around the room bewildered "So how do we get through this?" Carmine asked as he gripped his rifle tighter.

Carp placed his shotgun onto his back and cracked his knuckles, the wind howled as a gust of wind rushed down the hole in the roof and blew through the tunnels, the smoke quickly dissipated as it lingered around the corners of the roof. "Go! I'll hold them off here." Carp said as he maintained the constant gust of wind. Duke was about to walk down the hall, but Carp got his attention with a whistle "In my right pocket on my chest, take these wind dust crystals, they'll come in handy." Carp said as he held his arms up.

Duke pulled a bag of green crystals out of the man's pocket and placed them in his own pocket before he followed the Wolves who were accompanied by Aero and Grizz "Why didn't you two go with Titus?" Nightshade asked as he checked the corner and peaked under closed doors, Grizz laughed "And miss the action? I think not." Grizz said as he kicked a door down off its hinges, he walked into the room and looked around "Well, this is interesting. Hey, come check this out!" Grizz yelled as he pulled out a flashlight and clicked it on.

Carmine, Crimson, Onyx, Duke, and Nightshade walked into the room as Grizz shined the light around the room "What the fuck is this?" Nightshade asked as he looked at the diagrams and pictures on the wall. "A hit list?" Crimson asked as he flipped through some papers, Carmine found a switch on the wall and flipped it which brought the room to life.

"Holy shit fuck." Nightshade said as he looked at the wall that had blueprints and plans all over it, they looked on the floor and found bits of burnt paper "Well, looks like we found what they wanted to hide." Onyx chuckled as he looked at the diagram on the wall "Hey Duke, isn't that the Vega Convention Center?" Carmine asked as he gestured to the large diagram of a city metro area, Duke nodded "Yeah, looks like it. So, they had planned this for quite some time." Duke stated before the ground shook with a thunderous roar as the sound of explosions echoed from outside.

"JSO, this is Overlord. Be advised, multiple fast movers have engaged friendly forces, over." Overlord said through their earpieces, Duke clicked the button on his chest as he pressed his ear piece "Roger Overlord, Brimstone two actual is moving out, over." Duke said before he let go of the microphone. "Brimstone two? Really?" Nightshade asked with a chuckle, Duke shrugged "We're devils so it only makes sense that we're known as Brimstone." Duke said before he clicked the microphone on again "Overlord, this is Brimstone two actual. How many fast movers are being engaged? Over." Duke asked before the room filled with the white noise of the radio, the feed clicked back as Overlord came back through "Brimstone two, be advised, friendly forces count at least thirty fast movers. Over." Overlord said which caused everyone in the room to tense up.

Aero walked into the room and looked at the materials on the wall "Well, this doesn't look like the one from the forest at all." Aero said as he picked up the documents on the desk and flipped through them. "Hey… look at this." Aero said as he sat down a manifest on the desk with a letter head that read 'Carrion Industries'. "Is this a weapons manifest?" Onyx asked, Aero nodded "Yeah, weapons, armor, vehicles. Look at this, seven SU-57s, seven J-20s, ten Tu–160s, and six SU-27s. Shipments of Assault Rifles, Shotguns, LMGs, Handguns, Kevlar vests, Hand Grenades, C4, components for IEDs. BTRs, BMPs, M2s, M134s, RPGs, MLRS turrets. Holy fuck, there are enough weapons to supply an army." Aero said as he placed down more dossiers.

"So, this Carrion Industries is the one supplying the Reapers." Onyx said as he took pictures of the documents with his scroll. "So, we need to find out who oversees Carrion Industries. Overlord, can you look into that?" Carmine asked as he pressed his earpiece, the radio feed crackled before Overlord came through their earpieces "Roger. Now, go kick their ass." Overlord said, Aero chuckled "Y'all go ahead, I'm gonna collect these documents and get them out of here." Aero said as he started to load the papers and files into a satchel.

The Wolves' piled out of the office and back into the main corridor where Carp was standing, his knees shaking as he slowly lost stamina. "Please. Hurry." Carp said as he struggled to hold the smoke at bay. "Alright boys, let's make some noise!" Onyx said before the Wolves' raised their weapons as Carp dropped to one knee. Within an instant, a hail of gunfire ripped into the walls as the claps of gunfire echoed through the bunker corridors, Carmine pulled out a hand grenade and ripped the pin out before he tossed it into the corridor, the spoon tapped against the concrete floor before it exploded in flash of brilliant light the illuminated the dim room.

As Carmine scanned the floor, he noticed the smoke coming from a vent near a large section of wall, he clicked the green laser on his rifle on and pointed it at the wall "Crimson! Fire the Dard!" Carmine commanded before Crimson fished the RPG from his back and placed it on his shoulder. "Blast back is clear." Nightshade said before Crimson squeezed the trigger, the rocket leapt from the tube and screamed through the air before it hit the wall with a thunderous explosion that carved the concrete out from the wall.

Duke tossed a green crystal into the cloud of smoke and shot it once, the crystal exploded and released a massive gust of wind that caused the smoke and dust to dissipate. As the smoke cleared, a figure limped out of the hole coughing and hacking up a storm; "Is that…?" Onyx started to ask but Phantom cut him off "That's him, the real deal. That's Mamba." Phantom said as the man tried to get a hold of his bearings. "I think you fuckers ruptured my eardrum." Mamba said as he wiped some blood from his ear and wiped it on his shirt before he raised his hands.

"Looks like the predator is now the prey." Carmine said with a chuckle before the JSO opened fire and riddled Mamba with bullets that tore through his body like paper and painted the wall with bullet holes and blood spatter. Some members of the JSO swapped out their spent mags for fresh ones and pulled back the bolts on the sides of their weapons. "Really? The predator is now the prey? That's the best you got?" Crimson asked the rifleman, Carmine shrugged as he placed his rifle on his back.

As they looked around the destruction, their intercoms hissed as the audio came online "Brimstone actual, this is Overlord. We got some information on this shadow corporation, turns out this Carrion used to be partnered with Lapis Industries and their current partner is, wait for it, Sarcoline Industries." Overlord said as he relayed the vital information.

"Well no shit, you think this might have something to do with Schnee?" Crimson asked as he nudged Mamba's body with his foot. Mamba's head fell to the side as blood leaked from his mouth and pooled around his neck, Crimson reached down and pulled the man's scroll from his pocket but found it with a bullet hole through it. The room's silence was broken when Grizz kicked in another door, the door broke off its hinges and crashed down the stairwell before it slammed into the wall. "Found the stairs." Grizz said with a shit eating grin, the sounds of boots slamming onto concrete echoed from the floor below accompanied by people shouting.

"Looks like they're ready for us." Phantom said as he cocked his shotgun, Aero walked out of the office with a bag and handed it to Carp "Get this back to Titus." Aero said as he handed the satchel to the Disciple, he nodded and jogged down the hall to the awaiting repel ropes. Carp attached the ropes to his harness and quickly pulled himself out of the breach in the ceiling, Aero looked back at the JSO and pulled out his folded compound bow which he slammed open. "You ready?" Onyx asked as he rested his rifle onto his shoulder, Aero nodded "Hell yeah! Let's go kick their asses." Aero said as he pulled an arrow from the quiver on his back and snapped the nock onto the nock point.

Grullo moved to the front of the group before he slowly descended the stairs to the lower level, he poked his head out from cover but whipped it back when a barrage of bullets impacted the wall in front of him. "My turn." Nightshade said before he seemingly disappeared after he took a single step, he reappeared suddenly behind a wall on the second floor. "What's his semblance?" Aero asked, Onyx chuckled "He calls it 'Flashpoint' he becomes ethereal for about ten seconds and he can go anywhere." Onyx explained in a hushed tone.

Grullo dashed down the stairs and raised his LMG, as the barrel leveled with its targets, the time around him seemed to slow as he squeezed the trigger and opened fire on the Reapers in the corridor, the 7.62 x 51mm ripped through their bodies and coated the floor with blood and chunks of flesh.

Their bodies dropped to the ground with resounding thuds as the gunfire ceased, the corridor was deathly quiet as the sound of blood dripped into puddles of blood and standing water that mixed into puddles of murky water. The Joint Task Force slowly descended the staircase and regrouped with Grullo and Nightshade, Nightshade felt the wall until he found a lever and lifted it, the lights above sprung to life and illuminated the now battered room. Bodies were slouched against walls and draped over concrete barricades, in the middle of two barricades was a 12.7mm Kord HMG. "So, are we taking this with us? Cause I think we are taking this." Carmine asked as he lifted the barrel slightly.

Grullo and Grizz grabbed the base of the HMG and lifted it while Crimson folded the tripod in, Grizz rested it on his shoulder and held it tightly "I gotcha, bud." Grizz said with a chuckle, Carmine looked around the corridor and noted the long, solid hall with a large metal door at the end of the corridor. Crimson loaded a new shell into the Dard 120 before he crouched down on one knee, everyone behind him moved out of the way as he squeezed the trigger. The rocket leapt from the launcher and screamed down the corridor before it impacted the door with a thunderous explosion, smoke filled the hall the echoing explosion dissipated.

"Alright, let's go!" Onyx yelled before the team sprinted down the hall and exploded through the cloud of smoke, as they emerged on the other side, they came upon a sight which shook them to their core. A woman stood in the middle of the room wearing only a vest rigged with explosives, the explosives were linked to a single wire that ran to a Deadman detonator. "Please. Save me." She said faintly as she sobbed quietly. "Well fuck." Carmine said in a deadpan manner.

 **A/N: Aye, cliffhangers! Woohoo! Well, it's getting intense as the Joint Task Force is in the Reaper's hollow now. They're going in hard and they're going in fast (giggity). Honestly, I had to split this chapter because of writer's block but I'll try to get back into the flow of things. Anyway, thanks for reading and remember to Favorite, Follow, and leave a Review, and as always, this is Nightmare 6-4, signing off.**


	10. Chapter 10: Operation Vega Dawn (Part 2)

Ch. 10 – Operation Vega Dawn Pt. 2

 **I do not own RWBY, RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum (R.I.P.) nor do I own any media that may appear in the story. I only own the OCs, Enjoy! Remember to Favorite, Follow, and leave a Review.**

Everyone slowly entered the room and came to a stop as they stared at the woman with an explosive vest strapped to her body. Grullo swung his LMG and let it hang on his back before he lowered himself down closer to the floor as time slowed around him, he pushed off the floor with his right leg as he sprinted toward the woman and closed his hands around hers as the flow of time resumed its normal pace.

"It's gonna be alright, we're here." Grullo said in a soothing tone that seemed to comfort the scared girl. He slowly took the detonator from the girl's hand as the others locked down the situation "Crimson, Grizz, Sweets! Cover that door. Keppel, Duke, Nightshade! Secure the room. Phantom and Aero, on me." Carmine yelled as he and Onyx approached the woman strapped with the vest.

"Alright, find the power source." Carmine said as he traced wires down the woman's side. Keppel's ears twitched as the sound of boots echoed from down a corridor that Crimson, Grizz, and Sweets were covering. "Aero, do you see anything?" Carmine asked as he pulled his gas mask off and clipped it to his side, he unsheathed his Ka-Bar and placed it between his teeth as he traced another wire. Aero shook his head "Negative, all I see is her body heat." Aero said as his eyes turned from mint green back to hazel. "Alright, idea number two." Carmine said as he stood up and slowly slid his knife under the vest straps and cut them carefully as to not damage the wires.

Onyx unsheathed his Ka-Bar and followed suit, Aero and Phantom slowly lifted the vest off the girl while Grullo held the detonator. "Stop." Aero said as the vest was halfway off her body, they all looked at Aero as the sound of gunfire echoed through the small corridor. "Duke! Come here!" Carmine yelled to the Devil leader who sprinted over to the rifleman. "Turn your light on and shine it here." Aero said as he pointed at a place on the vest, Duke clicked his shoulder light and illuminated the designated spot.

The light hit the vest and illuminated a secondary detonator that was triggered by pressure release. "Shit." Everyone said simultaneously. Aero had a thought and fumbled around in his pocket until he pulled out a paperclip. "You just have one of those on you?" Carmine asked confused, Aero chuckled "Well, sometimes it's better to pick the lock than blow the entire wall up." Aero said as he slid the paperclip into a slit between the button and the detonator housing, the wedge kept the depressed.

"Alright, that should suffice for now." Aero said before they resumed the removal process and completely removed the vest from the girl's body. As the vest left her body, her knees gave way and dropped to the floor as Aero and Phantom slowly carried the vest away from her with Grullo in tow.

"Sweets! Get her out of here!" Duke yelled as Phantom ran to take Sweets' place next to Grizz. Sweets grabbed a sheet that was on the ground that he used to wrap around the girl before he picked up her and bolted out of the room toward the FOB. Carmine looked around the room curiously but was brought back to reality when a bullet whizzed past his face, "Right, war." Carmine said to himself as he withdrew his rifle and joined the frontline next to Crimson with Onyx and Nightshade in tow. Grullo pulled a roll of duct tape out and taped the dead man's switch down after he had activated his semblance to slow time.

As Carmine fired down range at the Reapers, a grenade flew and bounced onto the floor in front of the barricade they were behind. Carmine leaped over the barricade as he placed his rifle onto his back, he slid across the floor and grabbed the grenade before he hurled back down the hallway it came from, the grenade exploded two seconds later and filled the room with fire. "Go! Go! Go!" The Reapers yelled as they tried to push the advance, Carmine pulled a grenade from his vest and ripped the pin out, he squeezed the spoon down and tossed it down the hall where the Reapers were.

He quickly pulled his gas mask back on as the grenade exploded and eviscerated two Reaper insurgents, Carmine withdrew his rifle before he leaned out from behind cover and fired down the hallway at the other Reapers. Carmine closed one eye as he aimed down the ACOG sight and fired, one of the rounds screamed through the air and ripped through the knee of a Reaper. The man dropped to the ground in screaming agony before another round ripped through his head and silenced his screams permanently.

"Swapping mags!" Carmine yelled as he dropped the empty magazine from his rifle and replaced it with a fresh magazine, he placed the empty mag back into his pouch before he closed it again. Grullo worked steadily as he lifted the cover off the detonator and clipped the ground wire which deactivated it. "Done." Grullo said as he exhaled a sigh of relief. Aero walked over to the vest and inspected the explosive vest as bullets hit the wall behind him, Carmine leaped back over the barricade as a round nearly hit him.

Onyx and Duke raised their rifles and returned fire as Carmine pulled the bolt back on the receiver and ejected a spent shell. Grullo lifted his LMG and walked over to the barricade where he deployed the bipod and rested it on the barricade before he squeezed the trigger. The barrel spit fire as bullets spewed from the LMG and shredded the remaining Reapers down the hall, three bodies hit the wall and slumped to the ground as blood leaked from their bodies, eventually pooling around them while four others dropped like a sack of bricks with an audible thud.

Grullo dropped behind cover and reloaded his LMG, the JSO had stopped firing when they noticed a lack of return fire. "Carmine, go check it out." Onyx said in a hushed tone as he knelt next to Carmine and Grullo. Carmine stood up slowly and quickly vaulted over the barricade and quickly pushed himself up against the cold concrete wall, he looked back at the other mercenaries who all gave him a nod to proceed.

Carmine tightened his grip on the foregrip of his rifle before he moved out from behind cover, the corridor was filled with smoke and the lights were flickering as the circuitry struggled to function. Carmine quickly knelt on one knee as he clicked the light on the end of his rifle on, before he could stand up, his earpiece buzzed as a southern Mistralian voice came through. "Alright boys be advised; I brought some friends to liven up this fiesta. Yee yee!" Titus said loudly over the radio. Carmine stood up and continued down the corridor slowly, a light fixture dangled from the roof that spun slowly as it flickered on and off. Carmine held his left hand up and grabbed the fixture before he illuminated the corridor that opened into a larger room.

As Carmine stepped into the main room, he was ambushed by a Reaper who had survived Grullo's barrage. The Reaper grabbed the barrel of his Scar and jerked it forward before he slammed his elbow down into Carmine's right forearm, the sudden attack caused Carmine's grip to loosen and the Reaper ripped the rifle from his hands. Carmine recoiled back before he dashed forward drove his knee into the Reapers gut, he then slammed his boot down onto the Reaper's ankle that emitted an audible snap. The Reaper howled in pain as he dropped the rifle, Carmine withdrew his Ka-Bar and thrusted it into the Reaper's gut upward of twelve times. Carmine placed his hand on the Reaper's mouth to muffle his screaming, the rifleman held up a single finger on the hand that held the bloody knife as he shushed the Reaper before he stabbed him in the throat. The man's body slid down the wall and slumped against the wall as the Reaper gurgled on his own blood as life left his eyes, Carmine wiped the blood off his Ka-Bar on the Reaper's shirt before he sheathed it and picked up his rifle, he shined the light around to count the confirmed kills.

"Clear!" Carmine called down the corridor to the rest of the JSO, one by one, they vaulted over the barricade and made their way to Carmine's position. Onyx walked up and looked over at the body of the Reaper as blood leaked from his throat, "Damn little bro, you okay? Need to talk about something?" Onyx asked genuinely concerned, Carmine shook his head "Nah, I just want to go home. These fuckers get no sympathy from me, except you Phantom, you're cool." Carmine said as he looked at the ex-Reaper who smiled uneasily back at him.

"Got a door here!" Grizz yelled as he stood next to a pair of double doors. "Alright, everybody stack up for breach. Grizz and Nightshade, you're up." Onyx said as he stacked up behind Carmine who was behind Crimson. Duke, Grullo, Keppel, and Aero were stacked up on the other wall, Phantom took his place behind Onyx as Grizz and Nightshade blew the doors off with two breaching charges, the doors flew in and crashed into a wall. The two teams charged in and cleared the room in a matter of seconds as they all fanned out, Crimson searched the wall and eventually found a light switch that he flipped on to illuminate the large room.

"Barracks?" Duke asked as he looked around the large room, but Phantom shook his head "Junction point. There are hallways that spider out and probably down." Phantom said as he looked around the large room. "Aero, what did you learn about that vest?" Onyx asked as he held his rifle with the barrel pointed toward the floor, Aero shook his head "Definitely the handiwork of Astaroth. Titus took good care of him, but… have you heard the myth of the Hydra? Cut off one head, two more take its place. Well, that's how Astaroth commanded his insurgents, he had a series of fail-safes and backup plans in place should something happen to him, such as secondary leaders. So, if he died for whatever reason, someone would take his place and that would most likely be Abraxas, his second-in-command." Aero said as he explained Astaroth's hierarchy of leadership.

"And how does Abraxas lead? How does he fight?" Onyx asked, Phantom shook his head as he shuddered a little bit. "A war on two fronts." Phantom said as an alarm sounded, and lights flashed. Carmine looked over at a door that had black smoke and suddenly daylight shining through, Carmine took off toward the door and threw it open before he put down two insurgents. He ran out into a large garage that had the door smashed open and a large semi was speeding down a dirt road. "Guys! It's the Mammoth!" Carmine yelled as the others followed him into the garage. "Fuck!" Onyx and Crimson yelled at the same time. Suddenly Titus sped by in a roofless Humvee and slammed the vehicle to a stop, Carmine looked up at the vehicle and saw Sweets on the M2 and another Merc in the backseat.

"Get in, chuckle fuck!" Titus yelled to Carmine who didn't hesitate to run and board the Humvee. Titus slammed his foot on the pedal and tore off down the road behind the Mammoth, Carmine looked up and saw multiple fighter jets engaging unknown targets. "Alright, when we get close, you're gonna jump off and take over this hunk of shit!" Titus yelled as they neared the tanker that sped down the road.

As they got closer, they watched as the top opened and two large quad barreled HMGs came out of the top of the tanker trailer along with two missile pods that were pointed upward, the back opened as a large pipe came out of the back. Suddenly, a huge plume of fire erupted from the pipe and coated the ground in a blazing fluid that burned intensely. Titus sped up to get to the side of the Mammoth but were met by the barrels of four M134 Miniguns that fired at the Humvee. Carmine climbed up to the top of the Humvee and leaped off the speeding vehicle to grab a handle on the side of the vehicle, he grabbed a hold of the bar as bullets ripped into the side of the Humvee. Sweets climbed out of the turret seat to jump across, but he was ripped apart by the miniguns on the side, his bullet riddled corpse flopped through the air and slammed into the dirt as his body was mangled by the impact. "Sweets! Fuck!" Carmine yelled as the Humvee slammed on the brakes and disappeared in the distance.

Carmine pulled himself up onto the tanker as the side guns went silent, he looked around but found nobody manning the weapons. He found a hatch on the roof and opened it slowly but found the tanker trailer empty aside from the M134s and ammo reservoirs. "What the fuck?" Carmine said confused as he looked down the road where the Mammoth was heading, he moved past the rocket pods and was directly behind the cab of the Mammoth when he saw the entrance to a small city in the distance. As it got closer, he read a sign that read 'Eastview' on it, the sound of metal gears clanking got Carmine's attention, he turned around and watched as the mounted munitions moved into position as a laser on the quad HMG clicked on and the missile pods rose up slowly before the covers opened on them.

Carmine spun back around and climbed onto the roof of the semi as it hit a large bump, the Mammoth slammed into the ground as it sped on and steadily switched gear. Carmine grabbed onto one of the exhaust stacks but found it burning his hand through the Kevlar gloves, he clenched his teeth as he lowered himself onto the passenger side and shattered the with his fist. He quickly reached in and unlocked the door to pull himself in as the driver tried to ram him into a tree, Carmine pulled himself into the cab as a tree ripped the door from the semi body. The rifleman quickly grabbed the Reaper by the back of the head and slammed his face into the steering wheel repeatedly before he pushed him out of the driver's seat and into a pine tree that mangled the Reaper's body. Carmine pulled himself behind the bloody steering wheel as the Mammoth broke through the tree line, Carmine attempted to slam on the brakes but found that the brake pedal was gone, and the accelerator was welded to the floor. "Guys! This thing ain't gonna stop easily! No brakes!" Carmine yelled into his throat mic as the Mammoth roared into Eastview, the Mammoth had two giant metal sheets welded to the front of the semi that plowed through a parked car and tossed it into a storefront. "Carmine! We're on our way? What's the situation?" Onyx asked through the mic, Carmine gulped "It's about to get very bad." Carmine said as he pulled the air horn cord that dangled from the roof.

Carmine searched the dash as he tried to fine something to stop it, he opened a cover that had a single button that said 'press me' so he pressed it, he looked around but saw nothing happen but he heard the sound of a piano blare outward from the Mammoth.

 **Don't Stop Me Now – Queen**

 **Tonight, I'm gonna have myself a real good time I feel alive and the world, I'll turn it inside out, yeah, I'm floating around in ecstasy. So, don't stop me now. Don't stop me, 'Cause I'm having a good time, having a good time.**

As the music's tempo started to increase dramatically, a red light on the dash turned green as the Mammoth neared the more densely populated area of Eastview. Carmine looked at the driver's side-view mirror, he watched as the minigun barrels came back out and spun up. "Oh no." Carmine said as the first verse came on.

 **I'm a shooting star leaping through the sky Like a tiger defying the laws of gravity. I'm a racing car passing by like Lady Godiva, I'm gonna go, go, go, there's no stopping me.**

The miniguns erupted with gunfire that ripped through the people who had gathered nearby out of curiosity, the bullets shredded their bodies as it turned vehicles into swiss cheese and peppered building fronts. The quad HMGs jerked about as they fired at multiple targets in a quick succession, two missiles erupted out of the back and flew across the sky before they took a nose dive and slammed into a car that tried to escape, the vehicle was rendered into a smoldering hunk of metal that slid across the ground.

 **I'm burning through the sky, yeah. Two hundred degrees, that's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit. I'm travelling at the speed of light, I wanna make a supersonic man outta you. Don't stop me now! I'm having such a good time; I'm having a ball. Don't stop me now if you wanna have a good time, just give me a call. Don't stop me now, 'cause I'm having a good time. Don't stop me now, yes, I'm having a good time, I don't wanna stop at all, yeah.**

Civilians ran in multiple directions as the Mammoth plowed into the crowd, men and women were crushed beneath the tanker as the flamethrower ignited people that the plow missed. Four more missiles erupted from the missile pod and screamed through the sky before they impacted storefronts and apartment buildings, leaving massive craters behind as flames erupted from the point of impact. Two men were ripped apart by the .50 BMG rounds that rained down from the top of the tanker trailer, the miniguns ripped others in half as they fired sporadically.

Carmine gripped the steering wheel harder as he tried to break the fixed guidance that seemed to be welded into axles, he reached down under the dash and quickly decoupled an inhibitor that was wired into the steering wheel. He gripped the wheel and with a quick motion, jerked the wheel from right to left and broke the bracket that was spot welded to the steering joint. Carmine gripped the wheel tighter before he jerked it from right to left again, this time, the semi turned sharply as the speedometer was red lined at almost one hundred mph.

The Mammoth turned sharply and jack-knifed as the front axle ripped into the brick road beneath as the trailer was launched into the air as the Mammoth rolled and slammed into the ground repeatedly. The top guns were sheared off as concrete ripped into the trailer and the cab slammed into a large building that ate the semi cab, the trailer continued to flip and roll before it slammed into a concrete pillar and exploded into a massive plume of fire and smoke.

Carmine slowly opened his eyes to the sound of alarms and sirens going off as he slowly regained consciousness, as he moved slowly, his entire body shook in agony as he pulled himself out of the cab but fell from the semi and landed head first on a pile of bricks. As he tried to pull himself up, he looked over and saw a frightened woman hiding in closet. He lifted his hand slowly as he pleaded with her "Please… Help me…" Carmine said weakly, the woman opened the door slowly before a teenager ran out with broken piece of lumber and slammed it down into Carmine's abdomen "Fuck you!" The teen yelled before he spat onto Carmine's cracked visor.

Carmine faded in and out of consciousness as a crowd started to form around the wreckage, four men ran in and grabbed Carmine by the ankles before they dragged him out of the wreckage and began to wail on him some punching and others kicking him. Carmine tried to drag himself away from them but as he reached his hand to grab the brick road, someone stepped on his hand and applied pressure. "Suffer you piece of shit!" A man yelled as he kicked the rifleman hard in the side. "Feed him to the Grimm!" A female voice called from within the crowd which got them riled up.

"Yeah! Get him!" A man said in agreement as two men grabbed him and dragged him backwards. 'So, this is how it ends? I'm sorry Sapphire, I couldn't keep my promise.' Carmine thought to himself as his popped against the damaged brick road. The angry mob dragged the rifleman across the ground but came to a stop when four BTR-4s cut them off and members of the JSO exited with their weapons raised. "What in the hell do you people think you're doing!?" Titus yelled in extreme anger. "We're taking care of the monster who caused all this." A large man said before he kicked Carmine in the ribs. Onyx walked up to the man and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt "That man tried to stop all this. You people have no idea what is really going on." Onyx said before he pushed the man out of the way, Crimson and Grullo ran up with their weapons raised as they forced the crowd away from Carmine.

"It's alright Carmine, we're here. Bubba!" Onyx yelled as he held Carmine's hand. Bubba and woman in a molle vest ran up "Get his gear off of him!" Bubba yelled as he pulled the broken gas mask off and tossed it to the side, Carmine looked over at the woman weakly and read her name tag to himself. 'Diamond, huh.' Carmine thought to himself as he closed his eyes. "Carmine! Carmine, stay with us!" Onyx yelled as he lightly slapped the side of Carmine's face. Diamond and Bubba unfastened his IBA and pulled it off, followed by his pants.

"Diamond, check for bleeds." Bubba said as he searched the rifleman's abdomen. Diamond searched lower but found no bleeds, Diamond placed her hands on his lower abdomen and his right thigh while Bubba placed his hand on the rifleman's chest and forehead. "Alright, ready? On three. One. Two. Three." Bubba said before they both activated their semblances, Carmine's body started to glow a light pink. As they combined their aura, Carmine's own aura started to glow red around his body. Onyx held up his scroll as he watched the rifleman's aura level recovering at a steady pace, 40%. 60%. 80%. "Alright, that's enough." Onyx said as he tapped Bubba on the shoulder, Bubba and Diamond took their hands off the rifleman as the crowd grew silent with anticipation.

Carmine's eyes shot open and he took a deep breath in, he exhaled and coughed roughly as he tried to get up, but Bubba kept him down. "Guys, why are my pants gone?" Carmine asked confused, the JSO chuckled as Diamond pulled them back up for him. "I think the Mammoth had an automatic targeting system, it fired all by itself. There was a resistor wired to the steering column and a bracket that was spot welded in place." Carmine said as he closed his eyes. "You don't think…?" Crimson asked before Aero finished his thought "Someone was controlling it remotely? It's possible but they would have to be close by." Aero said as Bubba and Diamond helped Carmine to his feet.

Carmine grabbed his arm and rolled his shoulder, the joints cracked as it rolled back into place "Well, that's gonna be a thing now." Carmine said in a deadpan manner. He turned around and faced the crowd that stood behind him "Seriously, y'all attack a guy before you know who is behind the attack. What the fuck?!" Carmine yelled as he walked toward the crowd that separated to allow him to walk through toward the wreckage. As he walked into the destroyed building, the same teenager ran at him with the broken 4x4 but Carmine caught it and detonated a small Supernova, the small blast eviscerated the wooden beam.

"I am not your fucking enemy, kid. Sorry that I couldn't avoid hitting your house." Carmine said as he pulled his bag from the cab of the Mammoth, he pulled his Scar out of the floorboard before he walked back toward the JSO. "Who are you?!" The teenager yelled at the rifleman, Carmine turned around and looked at the teen whose mother stood behind him. "Titan." Carmine said as he turned back around to regroup with his team.

Carmine handed his Scar to Crimson as he pulled his gear back on, Nightshade and Keppel put the Heavy IBA on over his shoulders as he zipped up the front while they fastened the sides tightly. One of the townspeople had picked up Carmine's gas mask and held her hand on broken visor, she closed her eyes as it started to glow a faint yellow. She removed her hand and examined the gas mask, its condition significantly better than before the chase. She moved through the crowd and approached Carmine with it in her hand "I'm a craftsmen and my semblance allows me to turn objects back to the condition they were before, up to about twelve hours." The woman said as she handed the mask back to Carmine, he took it from her gently and inspected it closely. "I greatly appreciate this, but you didn't have to do this." Carmine said gratefully, she shook her head.

"It's the least I could do after these brutes beat you savagely. Shame on you." The woman said as she scolded the men of the once angry mob. One of the men approached the JSO "We're are extremely sorry, is there anything we can do?" He asked, Onyx stepped forward and looked at the crowd. "You want to right this wrong? Then spread the truth. The people responsible for this attack was The Grimm Reapers, not the Wolf Pack, The Devil's Disciples, The Viper Legion, or the 184th Mistral Militia. The Grimm Reapers are the terrorists behind this. Another thing you need to do is seek shelter in the coming days because a war is coming, and it'll be one that's extremely violent." Onyx said to the crowd as he advised them on how to proceed.

Carmine pulled his gas mask back on and adjusted the strap in the back before he tested the purge valve that let out an audible hiss. "Alright, where to now?" Carmine asked as two M88 Hercules pulled up slowly, their tracks crushing the bricks beneath them as two CH-47 Chinooks flew overhead. One circled back and lowered two large winch magnets that attached to the wreckage of the Mammoth's trailer, the two M88s attached two winches to the other half of the Mammoth before the two recovery vehicles pulled it from wrecked building. Carmine looked back at the building but didn't see the teen or his mother.

"Stop! Stop!" Carmine yelled as he took off toward the wrecked building, the tanks came to an immediate stop as the Mammoth was halfway out. Carmine ran into the wreckage and looked around the building "Kid! Where are you?!" Carmine yelled before he kicked open a closet door and found them hiding, the mother holding a small child. "You have to get out now, this whole place is about to collapse." Carmine said as he extended his hand to them, the family were hesitant at first but slowly took his hand. He guided them out of the wreckage moments before the area they were hiding in was crushed by the upper part of building.

The tanks continued and pulled the rest of the Mammoth out of the wreckage before the Chinook lowered a winch down and hooked it, it slowly lifted the modified semi off the ground before it carried it off to an unknown destination. "I'm sorry about your house but you need to seek shelter, it's about to get a whole lot worse." Carmine said before he took off toward the JSO who had boarded the BTR-4s. Carmine climbed onto the side and banged his fist onto the roof, the BTR bucked as it took off slowly and followed a convoy behind the other three BTRs and the two M88s behind them. As the convoy drove back toward the bunker, they passed the mayhem that the Mammoth inflicted; men and women cried over their loved ones, shop owners looked at their crushed dreams, survivors in agony, and EMTs doing their best to save others.

"Oh god." Carmine said to himself as he lowered himself into the BTR and closed the hatch behind him. He dropped his head and cradled it in his hands, Titus patted him on the back as he tried to find the words to say. "You did everything you could, think about it like this. If you hadn't done anything, hundreds of thousands of people could have been killed." Titus said as he leaned back in his seat. After a couple minutes of driving, the convoy came to a stop in front of the smashed doors that housed the Mammoth. The JSO exfiled from the BTRs and fanned out before they moved into the bunker again, Carmine looked around as he watched Disciples and 184th Militants run around the bunker as they gathered evidence and information.

"Well, morning sunshine. You kill that fat bastard?" Duke asked as he lit up a cigar, Carmine shook his head. "Kill is a bit of a stretch, more like flipped it into a building. The weapons had an automatic targeting system that fired when it the camera identified a person, most likely a thermal targeting system." Carmine said as he looked around the garage. "Phantom!" Carmine called into the bunker, seconds later, a plume of black smoke formed in front of him before Phantom stepped out. "You rang?" Phantom asked nonchalantly.

"Yeah, where can we find Abraxas?" Carmine asked as he crossed his arms, Phantom thought to himself for a moment as he paced back and forth. "I got a feeling he might still be in the bunker, probably on one of the lower levels." Phantom said, the JSO went dead silent. "Lower levels?" Onyx asked confused. Phantom nodded "Yeah, I found a blueprint of the bunker and it has six levels." Phantom said which caused everyone to go pale. "Alright fuck it. We're not going down, we're going through. Duke, bring me Nightwalker." Carmine said to the Disciple's leader.

Duke nodded before his pressed his radio, Carmine and Phantom walked back into the main atrium of the bunker and looked around the room before they looked at the blueprints. Carmine took a couple steps and stomped his foot "This is the exact center of the bunker, yes?" Carmine asked the ex- Reaper who nodded in return. He looked up as Nightwalker jogged in "You wanted to see me, sir?" Nightwalker asked, Carmine smirked within his gas mask. "Get all the explosives you can carry." Carmine said, Nightwalker smiled before he took off back outside, he returned minutes later with two Disciples and two 184th Militants that carried multiple crates.

Carmine pulled out a can of spray paint from the boxes and sprayed multiple dots in a circle on the floor. "Bore here and place explosive charges. Enough to get through the floor but not enough to destabilize the entire bunker." Carmine said as he stepped away from the spray spots. Nightwalker pulled out a large diamond tip drill and slowly started to bore holes into the concrete floor, another Disciple slid explosive charges into the bore holes as Nightwalker finished each one.

"Hunter, cross these wires and splice these two together." Nightwalker said to a younger looking Disciple mercenary. "I take it he's one of the new recruits. I see he doesn't have any ink on him." Carmine said as he gestured to the skull with horns tattooed on the side of Nightwalker's neck. "Oh no sir, I've earned my horns. I'm just allergic to the ink they use for tattoos." Hunter said as he rolled up his sleeve to reveal a skull with devil horns that had been branded into his skin, time had turned it into a nice scar. "Damn, that's pretty gnarly." Carmine said as he took a closer look.

"Alright, it's ready." Nightwalker said as he held an electronic detonator box. "JSO breaching party of twelve, your table is ready." Carmine said over the radio as he pressed his throat comms. "Overlord, how do you read us visually?" Carmine asked as he pressed his earpiece. The white noise buzzed for a moment before a voice came through. "Hi sweetheart, are you okay?" Sapphire's silk voice came through the comms and sent chills down Carmine's spine which stirred something in both his heart and his BDUs. "H-hey sweetie, your voice is such a pleasant surprise, it actually got me 'excited'." Carmine said over the long-range intercom. Sapphire giggled "Well, save it for me, won't you, big boy?" Sapphire asked in a seductive tone.

Carmine smiled inside his mask but looked up when he heard a series of whoops and whistles "I guess the boys heard all that." Carmine said with a chuckle. "Well, they're gonna hear a whole lot more when I get my hands on your sexy ass." Sapphire said to Carmine which received more whoops and whistles from the boys as they entered the atrium. "Alright baby, I gotta get back to work. Can you put Harley on? I love you." Carmine said to the love of his life, she giggled on the other of the comms. "I love you too, here she is." Sapphire said before she gave the comms to Harlequin. "Talk to me Titan." Harley said over the comms.

"Overlord, how do you copy our visual feed?" Carmine asked, there was a momentary pause before Harley responded "Green across the board. We got the entire Mammoth interception on camera as well. Those things are extremely durable, like can survive being shot, blown up, and being submerged for quite a long time." Harley stated as she noted their status update.

"Roger Overlord, JSO breaching to secondary level." Onyx said as he pressed his earpiece. The comm feed buzzed for few seconds before Harley responded, "Roger that, stay frosty, JSO." Harley said before the feed cut off. Everyone backed up as Nightwalker and Hunter attached wires to the electronic detonator, Nightwalker flipped a few switches, flipped up a cover, and pressed a red button. The charges switched from red to green before the explosives gave off a two-stage detonation, the charges gave off a small ring of explosions before the main charges exploded and blew a hole through the floor.

Nightshade, Crimson, and Aero pulled out white glow sticks and cracked them in half, shook them up, and tossed them into the hole. Keppel and Aero leaped into the hole as the others stepped closer to it, gunshots rang out as the sound of blows landing as they met their target. "Any other Faunus here?" Carmine called out to a couple dozen mercenaries who stood by the garage, a few raised their hand before they walked over to toward the breach in the floor. "Alright, go down and secure the floor with Keppel and Aero." Duke said as he dropped his cigar and stomped it out. The mercenaries jumped into the hole one by one before JSO followed them into the breach.

The human mercenaries turned on their flashlights that were attached to their weapons, the flashlights illuminated the dark areas as the mercenaries fanned out and secured the second level. "Can we get some light?" Titus asked, one of the Faunus searched along the wall until he found a circuit box and lifted the lever. The lights shot to life as the bright lights illuminated the second level.

"Got a few doors over here!" Grizz said as he sized up a metal door. "Hunter! We need some strip charges." Duke said up through the breach hole. Seconds later, a small box fell through the hole and into Duke's grasp. He opened the lid and tossed a strip charge to Grizz who caught it and immediately molded it to the wall where the hinges were bolted to the door. Grizz backed up behind a corner before he twisted the detonator, the charge activated and ignited a thermite charge that ripped through the metal.

The door broke free from the wall and collapsed to the floor, Grizz pulled a flashbang out and ripped out the pin before he tossed it into the newly breached hall. The flashbang exploded into a brilliant flash of light, Nightshade and Crimson rounded the corner with their weapons raised as Carmine, Grullo, Onyx, Keppel, and Phantom stacked up behind them. Duke applied the thermite charge to another door opposite to the one that was just breached and activated the charge, the exothermic charge quickly ripped through the metal and separated the door from the wall. "Duke, you take some mercs and go clear out that sector, we'll clear this one. Radio us if you encounter any type of problem." Onyx said before the Wolf Pack pushed into the brightly lit hallway.

"Alright, we can cut the lights off. Save them for an emergency." Onyx said as he clicked his flashlight off, the other wolves followed suit and darkened the light on the end of their weapons. The wolves moved down the hall slowly and methodically until they came up to their first door, the metallic door had a slot for windows but was clearly absent of them. Grullo moved to the head of the group and lined himself up with the door, he took a few steps back before he ran full speed and threw his shoulder into the door, but he bounced off the metal door. Crimson rolled his shoulders and limbered himself up "Grullo, hit me in the stomach so…" Crimson started to say before Grullo drove his knee up into Crimson's gut, the blow knocked the air out of the infantryman who fell to the floor. "Dick." Crimson said as he slowly pushed himself off the floor.

Crimson steadied himself against the wall before he lined himself up with the door, his body started to swell in a dark red aura as he backed himself up and ran full speed into the door, when his body connected with the door; his semblance emitted the stored kinetic energy in the form of one large pulse that blew the door inward. Crimson walked into the room and looked around the room until he found a large rectangular crate, he walked up to it and unlatched the sides before he pushed the lid off.

Crimson clicked a flashlight on the side of his helmet on and illuminated the contents of the crate, he pulled a cover back and revealed a crate full of artillery shells. "Overlord, are you seeing this?" Crimson said as he leaned closer to the crate. The rest of the Wolf Pack filled into the room and illuminated the rest of the room, one by one, they opened more crates and uncovered large boxes of munitions. "10-4, Wolf Pack. Can you carefully pull one out and rotate it carefully?" Overlord asked, Crimson and Carmine slowly grabbed the tip and neck of the shell and lifted it slowly out of the crate.

As the light hit the shell, a yellow powdery substance slowly brushed off the side of the shell and fell to the floor. "Wolf Pack! Hold it!" Overlord yelled through their earpieces which caused them to stop mid motion, seconds later, Nightwalker and Aero ran in. "Overlord radioed us. What's up?" Nightwalker asked as he walked into the room. Nightwalker and Aero froze when they came face to face with the crate of artillery shells.

"Shit, Ragbone! Your services are needed!" Nightwalker yelled back down the hall, minutes later, a large man in a gas mask with a tank of oxygen strapped to his back. "Alright ladies, clear the fuck out of here." Ragbone said as he slowly took the shell from Crimson and Carmine. The Wolf Pack quickly backed out of the room as another person in a full hazmat suit passed them "Yeah, they found the same thing. Disciple's chemical specialists are on it." The man said as he carried a briefcase and entered the room.

"Alright, Nightwalker, we need to hurry this up. Setup a single bore charge and blow this motherfucker." Duke said he walked back into the roof in a huff. Hunter started to bore a large hole as Nightwalker compounded a large Semtex charge, Nightwalker slid the charge into the bore hole and wired it to a timed detonation. "Thirty seconds, ladies! Scatter!" Nightwalker yelled as everyone ran for cover. Seconds later, the charge exploded and blew through two levels of the bunker. "Go! Go! Go!" Duke yelled as he leaped in and landed on the next floor before he quickly ran in and kicked in a door.

"Grizz, find the stairwell or something to descend this fucking bunker." Titus said before he leaped into the hole in the floor. Carmine, Crimson, Onyx, and Nightshade followed him in and ran after Duke who had gunned down any Reaper that stood in his way. "I found the packages!" Duke yelled as he put down the last Reaper. Carmine and the rest of the Mercs filled into the room, they looked around and saw women bound and gagged with fear plastered on their faces. "Oh fuck! How do we get out of here?" Titus asked as he looked around the room, when suddenly part of the wall slammed open and Grizz stumbled out. "Found the stairs." Grizz said as he panted heavily.

Carmine turned around and watched as multiple Disciples and Militants ran down the stairs as others repelled down the hole in the roof. "Alright, Ross, lock this shit down and get these girls out of here." Duke said as he handed over command to one of his Disciples. "Yes sir, we radioed the Vale police force and called for multiple EMTs." Ross said as Disciples and Militants ran past him to secure the hostages.

"Wolf Pack, Titus, Grizz; let's go. We got a lot of work to do." Duke said before the mercenaries sprinted up the stairs and out to the first floor, they bolted out through the open garage door. They came to a stop outside the bunker and looked around as mercenaries with varying patches worked with each other as they secured the bunker at the newly setup base of operations. "Duke, the BTRs took off to secure the perimeter and take out any fleeing Reapers. Harley sent for two Venoms for you guys." Carp said as he walked out from under the tent, they all shifted their gaze to the right as two men stood ten feet apart from each other and held their arms out.

Slowly, the ground started to rumble as the trees slowly slid apart to create a perfectly flat clearing, suddenly massive bolts of lightning erupted from the ground and eviscerated the trees that had moved, blowing them into chunks and splinters of wood. A large man in an all-black tactical attire walked out of the smoke that was billowing up from where the trees were standing, Duke and the Wolves looked at each other confused "He with you?" They asked each other simultaneously, Titus laughed loudly in a hearty southern Mistralian accent. "He's with me, boys. Meet Archimedes." Titus said as Archimedes arched lightning between his hands.

"Schön, Sie kennenzulernen. Ich habe viel über Sie gehört." Archimedes said in an unknown language, the Wolves looked at one another confused. "I'm sorry? What did you say?" Onyx asked confused, Titus spoke up "Archimedes, bitte englisch." Titus said to the Militant. Archimedes chuckled to himself "A thousand pardons, it's nice to meet you guys, I've heard a lot about you." Archimedes said as he walked up to the mercenaries and shook their hands. "What language was that?" Onyx asked as he turned to look at Titus. "That's old Northern Mistralian. He comes from a long line of Mistralian soldiers and generals, he's also a fantastic panzer division commander." Titus explained as Archimedes stood at attention. Archimedes held his hand up with his fingers spread apart as electricity arched between each finger, "So, what is your Semblance?" Crimson asked as he crossed his arms, Archimedes held both his hands out as electricity arched off his fingers onto the ground. "Ion Manipulation." Archimedes said as the arches of lightning dissipated.

"Look alive, evac has arrived." Duke said as two Osprey VTOLs landed in the freshly made clearing. "Let's move! We gotta regroup with Overlord." Titus said before they made their way to the VTOLs as the backs opened. The Wolves, Duke, and a few other Disciples boarded one of the VTOLs while Titus and other members of the 184th Militia piled into the other VTOL. "Overlord, this is Brimstone. We're making our way back to Vale to get ready for our special guests." Duke said through his comms set.

The line crackled for a moment before Harley came through the line "Change of plan, boys. Titus and Duke, you will fortify the defenses. Some of my bombers are giving them hell and slowing them down via aerial dropped AT mines. It should be enough to slow them down for now, but I will say that they are leaving a wake of destruction in their path." Harley said as the mercenaries' scrolls went off as they all received a file from Jay and Harlequin that had multiple photos in it.

The photos depicted burnt out buildings, walls riddled with bullet holes, bullet riddled corpses, and a massive impact crater. Other photos showed the Reapers moving on foot and in armored vehicles. In the background of a photo depicting two M3 Bradley Cavalry Fighting Vehicles, a massive object nearly blocked out the sun. "Harley, that shadow… is that the Iron Hammer?" Carmine asked as he looked at the image, there was a pause that seemed to go on forever before Harlequin answered "Yes, everything you saw in that first picture is because of the Iron Hammer and the Reapers." Harley said in a somber tone.

"What's the plan, Harley?" Onyx asked as he pressed the comms button on his throat, the feed crackled for a moment before Harlequin spoke again. "When the Ospreys land in Vale, I need you guys to haul ass back to the Wolves' Den for an emergency briefing." Harley said before the comms shut off. There was a long silence within the fuselage of the VTOL before Crimson spoke up "Uhh… Is it me or did that seem really cryptic?" Crimson asked as he broke the silence. "Hella." Carmine replied before he cracked his knuckles.

"Uhh, guys… I hate to break up the impromptu meeting, but we got company. Someone better man the door gun." The pilot yelled before something slammed into the side of the Osprey, Crimson and Nightshade shot up from their seats and sprinted toward the front of the VTOL. They threw the side windows open and raised the mounted M2s that were bolted to the roof by a hydraulic swivel arm, Crimson and Nightshade pulled back the bolts on the mounted .50 Cal HMGs and aimed them out the sides of the Osprey.

"What do you see?!" Duke yelled as the sound of wind rushing into the VTOL muffled everything. The comms clicked before Crimson's voice came through their earpieces "Yeah, I don't see shit over here." Crimson said as he peered out the side of the airship, suddenly a large craft appeared from the clouds above and slowly descended from the sky above. "What in the H-E-double fuck is that?" Crimson asked as he glared at the aircraft that flew through the sky slowly. Duke gazed through the window at the craft and studied it slowly "Well, I'll be a son of a bitch. That's an LZ-74 R-Class airship, it was an experimental airship design for the Mistralian Guard, but they ended up with a more flying ship design, so the LZ-74 plan was scrapped, which I guess they got a hold of the plans." Duke explained as the bottom of the airship slowly opened before four large domes lowered out of the bottom of the airship and three rose out of the top of the airship. The domes opened slowly before two long barrels came out of each of the domes and slowly rotated. "Pilot! Evasive action, now!" Duke yelled before the domes on the LZ-74 opened fire, the Osprey banked to the right and took a quick nosedive.

"Harley! Come in, Overlord! We got some company!" Onyx yelled into the comms; the comms feed buzzed for a few moments before it clicked again. "We see it, Titus already brought in some air defenses for Vale, so they're lining up as we speak. Just a few more minutes." Jay said as the Osprey continued to evade the LZ-74s gunfire. "Who the fuck is on that airship?" Carmine asked as he gripped the handle on the roof to stabilize himself.

"That would be Abigar, one of Abraxas's knights. I imagine that one of the prince's has a research and development team that have been building all these Atlesian experimental designs that were deemed too dangerous or inefficient to exist." Phantom said as Crimson returned fire at the LZ-74. "I guarantee that these were scrapped in favor of the airships they have now, since these could probably be taken out with a well-placed Sabot shell." Duke stated as he held onto one of the straps that dangled from the roof to balance himself as the Osprey took evasive action.

Suddenly, the hail of gunfire seemed to stop instantly as did Crimson's counter-fire which raised everyone's level of concern. "Uhh guys!? It's gone, it just disappeared." Crimson said as he scanned the clouds as the Osprey evened out and flew straight. Everyone seemed to relax slightly as the Ospreys finally reached the air docks of Vale and slowly landed onto the concrete below. The loading ramp slowly opened and lowered itself until it firmly rested against the cool concrete landing pad, the members of the JSO quickly exited the Osprey where they regrouped and booked it toward the Wolves' Den. "What do you think came up that Harley called for an emergency meeting?" Onyx asked as he huffed slightly as they sprinted through the marketplace and weaved through the crowd of people.

"I couldn't tell you, brother." Carmine said as he ran down the brick sidewalk. As they ran, their combined boots hitting the brick road sounded like a thunderous roar of an army charging into battle. As they rounded the corner, they watched as the door to the Den opened and Harley stepped out to wave them into the building "Let's go! We're on barrowed time!" Harley yelled as the mercenaries piled into the Wolves' Den one after another.

"Where's the fire?" Titus asked as he took a deep breath in and exhaled slowly, Harley shook her head as she paced back and forth "Paimon's 2nd in command has taken over where he left off and tonight, a lot of girls are gonna be sold into sex slavery. Unless we do something; unless the Wolves do something." Harley said as Jay displayed a map of Remnant and zoomed in on an island between Vale and Mistral.

"The Wolves will HALO jump in and land in this wooded area on the western most side of the island before they push inward. Your target is Abdiel, Paimon's Duke, and personal confidant. From what you gathered at the bunker outside Eastview, the convention goers weren't taken to the bunker, but to the island that Paimon dubbed… 'Orgasm Oasis'." Jay said before he shuddered after uttering the name of the island.

"What are our Rules of Engagement (ROE's)?" Grullo asked as he crossed his arms, Jay scratched the side of his head as he moved the Holo-map over the rest of the island "So your target destination is this mansion and most likely, beneath it. ROE's and Objectives are as followed: 1. Eliminate HVT and confirm identity. 2. Eliminate any armed personnel with extreme hostility. 3. Secure a beachhead for landing crafts, the 184th will be there upon notice via signal flare. 4. Eliminate any HVTs on the list that will be sent to your scrolls shortly." Jay said as he labeled the Objectives and ROE's on a small whiteboard.

Carmine quickly raised his hand "Since everyone there can be assumed to be there to purchase people for their own sick fantasies, can we rule them open season?" Carmine asked, Harley chuckled "Go wild, kid. Just don't get them innocent civilians hurt, alright. Keep the explosives to a minimum, alright Titan?" Harley said before Sapphire rounded a corner and lit up when she saw Carmine.

"Babe! You're back!" Sapphire squealed excitedly as she jumped into his arms, she buried her face into his chest and savored his warmth before she let go of him "Don't worry, Harley already informed me about the situation. I'll be watching." Sapphire said with a playful wink. The Wolves quickly moved to change and prep their gear, they changed out spent magazines for fresh ones and changed loud rifles for suppressed weapons, Keppel put the M2010 ESR back onto the rack and picked up 'Charon' that sat on the table, propped up on its bipod.

Keppel grabbed a set of channel locks and used them to grip the muzzle break on the end of the barrel, he twisted it slowly before he removed the muzzle break and replaced it with a silencer, he tightened the suppressor before he pulled back the bolt of the side of the rifle, the rifle chambered a .50 BMG round from the magazine to the chamber as the bolt carrier pushed the round into place.

The air in the room was tense as everyone prepped their gear in near silence, Carmine swapped the muzzle breaks on his weapons for suppressors; transforming them to their melee form and back to their ranged form. The suppressors broke down normally and incorporated themselves into their melee forms and back into their ranged form without an issue "So, I take it that Mindaro's weapons have a takeover effect?" Carmine asked as he placed his weapons back into their holsters. Onyx chuckled "Yeah, that's what I love the most about his weapons. No matter what attachment you add to it, when you transform it to its melee form, it builds itself into it." Onyx said before he slapped a fresh mag into an AK-12 that had a suppressor, red dot sight, foregrip, and a green laser mounted on the side rail.

As they finished prepping their gear, Onyx moved so that he was in the middle of the room before he pulled the bolt back and chambered a round into the receiver. "Alright fuckers, it's time to nut up or shut up!" Onyx said as he rested his rifle on his shoulder.

 **A/N: Oh sweet fuck, this took too long to finish. Yay, now I can start the new chapter of Titan Rising that hopefully won't take eight months to finish. This one took me extra time to write since I kept writing myself into a corner. Anyway, thanks for reading and don't forget to Favorite, Follow, and leave a Review, and as always, this is Nightmare 6-4, signing off.**


	11. Chapter 11: Operation Midnight Climax

Ch. 11 – Operation Midnight Climax

 **I do not own RWBY, RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum (R.I.P.) nor do I own any media that may appear in the story. I only own the OCs, Enjoy! Remember to Favorite, Follow, and leave a Review.** **Fair warning, this chapter will contain dark themes, darker than usual as it will pertain to the subject of child sex trafficking and sex slavery.**

"First thing first; we need to use callsigns. We'll be on an island with some of Remnants most powerful people and we may not be able to put them down unless they are in the act, so we'll be using callsigns, strictly." Onyx said as he gestured to the pictures of some of the island patrons that were photographed covertly.

"Carmine Sable, callsign: Titan." Carmine said before Jay wrote the name on the board. "Onyx Sable, callsign: Wraith." Onyx said as he pulled off his nametag from his molle vest. "Nightshade Lazuli, callsign: Spectre." Nightshade said before the others followed suit. "Crimson Nerissimo, callsign: Sentinel. Grullo Picto, callsign: Juggernaut. Keppel Mazon, callsign: Seraph." The last three wolves stated as they took off their identification patches and Wolf Pack patches before they replaced them with patches that had a skull with wings outstretched and a knife in its mouth.

"If there's no other news, we should get moving." Onyx said before Duke and Titus walked in, followed by Phantom, Aero, Grizz, Bubba, Nightwalker, and another person with the nametag 'Cyanide'. "You ain't leaving without these two." Titus said as Phantom and Aero moved into the armory and prepped their gear for covert operations. "Callsigns?" Jay asked as he wrote two more names on the board.

"Perry 'Phantom' Ube. Callsign: Whisper." Phantom said before Jay wrote the name on the board, Aero pulled the quiver over his body and folded his compound bow before he placed it on his lower back. "Cedric 'Aero' Vender. Callsign: Cipher." Aero said as Jay wrote 'Cipher' on the board under 'Whisper'. Phantom walked out and pulled back the charging bolt on an M4a1 with an ACOG sight, Ergo foregrip, IR laser sight, and a suppressor along with a Beretta APX with a twenty-one-round mag, IR laser sight, and a suppressor.

Aero slapped a mag into a Glock 24 with a suppressor and a green laser sight on the right side of the handle before he shoved it into his holster. "You're name's Cedric Vender?" Carmine asked as his voice sounded muffled through his filter. Aero chuckled "That's my legal name, but the name I go by is 'Aero'." The archer said as he adjusted his gear.

"Alright ladies, if you'll kindly shut the fuck up, I'll start the briefing." Harlequin said as she ran her fingers through her crimson strawberry hair before her cat Faunus ears twitched. Everyone quieted down as they followed her into the briefing room, the lights dimmed as a projector flipped on and projected an aerial photo of a large island "This is Black Steel Island but Paimon renamed it 'Orgasm Oasis', god I want to puke when I say that. Anyway, in the middle of the island is the villa that has multiple components. There's the main building, the auction hall, various hotel/bungalow buildings that are on either side of the villa, so the clients can 'test' the merchandise, Jay mind finishing up; I think I'm gonna be sick." Harlequin said before she stormed out of the briefing room and Jay took over.

"Right, so there's also a grotto in the Northeastern side of the villa as well as an underground level. This will be a two-prong assault split into two squads: The Wolves, Aero, and Phantom make up the 'Covert Assault Squadron' or CAS while the 184th Militia, Devil's Disciples, and Viper Legion members will make up the 'The Extermination Squadron'. The CAS will HALO jump in from a V-22 Osprey and land on the western side of the island, here." Jay said as he gestured to the left side of the island.

"When you land, you'll regroup and push into the villa. Take out any Reapers you come across, and if you find any high-profile members of society trying to hanky panky the girls, you have authorization to double tap them and toss them into the ocean for the Grimm." Jay said as the slideshow ended. "Any questions?" Jay asked the room but was met with silence. "Go get em, boys." Jay said as he dismissed everyone.

As they were leaving the room, Carmine stopped Grullo and moved him over to the armory "Grab that M240B and slap a suppressor on it and remember to fire in short bursts. Grab a carbine while you're at it and suppress that one too." Carmine said as Grullo went to work and changed his gear, he emerged twenty minutes later with his gear on and weapons ready. "Subtle." Crimson said sarcastically. He swapped his Sig SG 550 for an UMP-45 with an ERGO foregrip, RDS, suppressor, and IR Laser and his PM-9 with a suppressor.

Keppel picked up Charon and put the sling across his body as he picked up Beretta M9 and twisted on cylindrical suppressor onto the muzzle before he holstered the pistol. "Everyone have suppressors?" Onyx asked, everyone nodded except for Aero who shrugged "Can you suppress a compound bow?" Aero asked sarcastically. Onyx rolled his eyes as he adjusted his helmet and the IRNV/FLIR optics on his helmet.

Carmine unclipped his gas mask and placed it into his bag before he pulled on a solid front balaclava that only had slit for his eyes before he pulled on a black covered ACH helmet with a EOTech GPNVG optics on it before he clipped the strap closed and tightened it a little bit under his chin. The other members of the CAS followed suit as they donned similar helmets with identical optics with the same balaclavas underneath their helmets before they left the Wolves' Den in the cover of darkness, the streets were barren as they made their way to the air docks and boarded a V-22 Osprey that had its propellers spinning up. The eight members of the special operations team took their places on the VTOL as they placed their gear in a large box and sealed it shut before Onyx activated an altitude chute deployment apparatus on the case.

The Osprey took off into the night sky and flew through the air as the CAS team prepped their HALO jump gear and fastened each other's oxygen tanks to their jumpsuit. "Good evening ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking, we'll be arriving at nightmare cove in approximately twenty minutes, in the event this flight becomes a cruise, may the gods be with you, so sit back, check your gear, and enjoy your inflight movie, The Last Airbender, directed by M. Night Shyamalan." The pilot said before the radio feed cut off.

"Oh! This Osprey better crash because I am not watching that train wreck of a movie again." Crimson said sarcastically as he fastened his gear and tightened his straps on his suit. "Disconnect your optics before we jump." Onyx said as he unlatched his GPNVG from his helmet and placed it into his rucksack under his MC-5 parachute, the others followed suit as they removed their optics from their helmets. A lone man walked down the aisle between the mercenaries and came to a stop near the rear where the ramp opened "Hello gentlemen, my name is Dandee and I'll be your jump master this evening. Everybody please stand and face me in two lines." Dandee said before the CAS stood and turned to face the man.

"Fantastic, now everyone check the parachute of the person in front of you and at the rear, the two of you check each other after you check the person in front." Dandee stated as he instructed the mercenaries, the men took turns check the chutes of the each other to assure they were strapped in correctly. As they finished up their check, they turned back to face the jump master who had made his way back through the two lines of people toward the cockpit. "Alright, when that light turns green, the two at the front will grab the case and run out the back of the plane. When you start to freefall, let the case go because it'll direct itself downward. Before you jump, attach your oxygen mask and goggles to protect your eyes, watch the gauge on your wrist and pull it at 3,000 feet, anything lower and we'll be scrapping you off the ground. We are currently at 28,000 feet so good luck gentlemen." Dandee said as the light by the ramp switched from red to green.

The eight mercenaries quickly connected their oxygen masks to their helmets and pulled on a pair of goggles from the parachute sacks before the back of the Osprey opened. Onyx and Nightshade gripped the sides of the container before they got a running start and leaped out the back of the VTOL, they let go of the container and sent it screaming toward the ground. Grullo and Crimson got a running start before they leaped out of the plane after Onyx and Nightshade; followed by Keppel, Aero, Phantom, and Carmine.

The eight mercenaries ripped through the sky as they flew toward their destination, Aero compressed his arms by his side before he rocketed toward the ground. As Carmine dropped through the air, he reached up and pressed the earbud in his ear to start a song queued up on his scroll. A heavy guitar rift came through the earpiece and drowned out the air rushing by his head.

 **Circus for a Psycho – Skillet**

 **You push me 'till I break and the anger turns to rage, why can't you just leave me alone? Got your finger on the trigger, you think that you're the winner, you're gonna get kicked off of your throne. You think you're going to hurt me, get ready to get dirty you created this beast inside. Pull the noose tighter and lift a little higher, because you're killing me slow, I ain't ready to die. Killing me slow but I ain't ready to die.**

As the Covert Assault Squad ripped through the night sky under the light of the shattered moon and the stars above, Crimson flipped through the air as he extended his arms to slow his descent to showboat a little more. Carmine spiraled in a corkscrew motion as he raced toward the ground below, they all watched the crate soar through the air before a parachute exploded out the top and slowed the speed of its descent.

 **Tonight, get ready for a fight so now you know it's time to ride, a circus for a psycho! Round and round we go, look out below because I want off this, I want off this Circus for a psycho! Circus for a psycho! Psycho, here we go!**

 **Everybody down gonna burn it to the ground, can't keep this beast inside! Never again, never again, you're killing me slow but I ain't ready to die! Killing me slow but I ain't ready to die.**

 **Tonight, get ready for a fight so now you know it's time to ride, a circus for a psycho! Round and round we go, look out below because I want off this, I want off this Circus for a psycho! Circus for a psycho! Psycho, here we go!**

Carmine watched as Grullo plummeted toward the ground at a faster rate than the others, the other seven compressed theirs arms to their side and increased their descent speed to catch up with Grullo as they monitored their altitude via their HUDs on the goggles over their eyes.

Carmine's music cut off as Onyx pressed his throat comms "Alright, rip your chutes." Onyx said over through their earpieces, one by one they deployed their parachutes as they had reached 3,500 feet. As Grullo's chute opened, the paracord tightened as his entire weight jerked downward as the parachute opened fully and ripped the mercenary upward before the paracord snapped and sent him hurling toward the ground until he ripped his backup chute that opened and sustained his entire weight. "Well damn, that was terrifying." Grullo said through the team comms.

The mercenaries touched down in a wooded area and worked to get to the crate that landed approximately 500 feet away. The mercenaries withdrew their Ka-Bars from their vests as they pushed toward the crate's location, they lowered their bodies and crept through the foliage.

"Did you hear that thud? What the hell was that?" A voice asked as two armed men walked toward the wooded area, the mercenaries dispersed and fanned out as they circled around the two guards before they swooped in for the kill.

Carmine swooped up behind the guard and covered the man's mouth before he slit his throat while Crimson took out the second guard with a knife to the chest and a covered mouth, Carmine's hand muffled the guards screams that changed into the sound of him gurgling on his own blood. Carmine dragged the man's body and dropped it into a shrub, they grabbed their weapons off the ground and emptied the magazines from the weapons along with the firing pins.

The covert team pushed into the forest until they found where the crate landed after it crashed through some branches, Carmine unlatched the lid and decompressed the crate as they reached into the crate to retrieve their gear. Carmine unfolded the stock of his rifle and holstered his MP7 on his side, they reattached their GPNVG optics to their helmets, Grullo lifted his LMG out of the crate and pulled the bolt on the side back to chamber a round.

"Alright, we'll split into two teams: Bravo will consist of myself, Nightshade, Aero, and Keppel. Delta will be Carmine, Crimson, Grullo, and Phantom. Use your callsigns when you're in there though, since we don't look like we typically do." Onyx said in hushed tone as he held his AK-12. "Bravo will take the outskirts and secure the beach for the 184th to land, while Delta, you guys got the compound. Good luck." Onyx said before Delta nodded and made their way toward the compound under the cover of night, the four mercenaries pulled down their optics that illuminated the area in a blanket of green so they could see as if it were daylight.

As they pushed inland, their comms feed buzzed as Harlequin's voice came through their earpieces "Alright, it looks like you landed on the backside of the island where defenses are at its weakest. Yachts are still arriving at the docks and there appears to be a large freighter docked on the opposite side of the island. It seems to have a fair amount of guards and they seem to be unloading shipping containers." Harlequin said before Onyx clicked in as they used their callsigns over the comms.

"Roger that, Harley. We'll be on alert. Wraith, out." Onyx said before the comms fell silent momentarily. "Heads up, Titan. It looks like they've started this human auction, Whisper, get to the roof and scope out the area while Titan, Sentinel, and Juggernaut get into place." Harlequin said through the comms.

Phantom nodded to the other three before smoke billowed up around him and swallowed him, he reappeared on a balcony and leaped up to grab a ledge, he pulled himself up quickly as an armed guard walked out onto the balcony. Carmine, Crimson, and Grullo moved slowly in the shadows of the somewhat illuminated building, while Phantom moved along the rooftop of the mansion.

A voice boomed through a PA system as it spoke rapidly followed by numerous other voices "Do I hear five hundred? Five hundred! Six hundred! Nine hundred! Sold to the man in white for nine hundred thousand Lien!" The man on the PA yelled as he slammed a gavel. "Whisper, who is that?" Carmine asked as he looked through a steel gate at the stage where girls stood nude with metal collars around their necks.

The audio feed buzzed as Phantom responded "That's Abdiel, Paimon's second in command. I also guarantee Bast and Jezebeth are here, if you see a woman with white hair, red eyes, and a crown of bloody spikes, that is Jezebeth. Don't take her lightly, she will fuck you up." Phantom said as he warned the rifleman. "Bast has an acoustic guitar that he uses to channel his semblance, Shriek. If he strums a chord hard-enough, he can emit a noise that sounds like ten thousand banshees wailing." Phantom said as he knelt on the ledge of the roof.

"Alright, up next we have a little treat. A Mistralian Faunus who was orphaned after her parents met an 'unfortunate' ending. She's 14 and looking to please." Abdiel said as a petrified girl with silver hair and a pair of cat ear was escorted on stage by a man who held a gun to her head. "I wish I could enjoy her one more time, anyway, let's start the biding at fifty thousand." Abdiel said as another round started, Carmine felt his blood boil in his veins as he tightened his grip on his rifle.

"Come in Delta, docks are clear. We are making our way back there; Disciples have already arrived." Onyx said over the comms. "You better hurry, because I can't stand by for another second. I'll kill every mother fucker here." Carmine said as he pressed his comms. "Do I hear seven hundred? Seven hundred going once. Twice. Sold to the man in the black hat!" Abdiel yelled as he slammed the gavel.

A grotesquely fat man in black ambled up to the stage as the Faunus girl wept lightly, he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her off stage, her feet stumbled across the marble floor as she was pulled away to an unknown fate. "I know you're angry, just stay calm until the others get here." Crimson said in a hushed tone as they watched on in disgust. "Our next pieces are hot little firecrackers from Mantle, these 15-year-old twins will give you a good time. They love to please, believe me." Abdiel said with a disgusting laugh before he continued. "I can say that they are worth the price, I've tested them myself so let's start the biding at one hundred thousand lien." Abdiel said before dozens of paddles rose up in the crowd.

Abdiel spoke in a rapid manner as the bid kept climbing higher and higher "Eight hundred and fifty, do I hear nine hundred? Nine hundred going once. Twice. Sold to the older gentleman in white, come claim your new toys." Abdiel said with a sinister grin as an old man walked to stage and grabbed the girls' wrists but one pulled away from him, he drew his hand back and back handed the girl across the face and grabbed her under her jaw "You WILL obey me or I will make an example out of you, no, out of your sister." The old man said with malice on his tongue before he dragged the twins off into the darkness.

The sound of boots on brick echoed behind them as Bravo rejoined them "Great, the teams all here. Seraph, get to the roof." Carmine said before Keppel nodded and ran off to find a way to the roof. Aero opened his scroll and looked at the feed from the UAV that circled above, courtesy of Viper Legion. They watched as multiple landing crafts drove up on the beach and deflated, the tanks and APCs inside sat silent and cold. "Come in Wraith, one of my AC-130s is overhead, callsign Hellfire Rain. Good luck." Harlequin said through the comms before they fell silent. "Alright, now the fun begins. Door to door room service. Seraph, keep an eye out and watch out for anything that happens." Onyx said as he pressed his throat comms.

The six mercenaries moved along the brick pathway with their weapons raised and their helmet-mounted optics down. "Be advised, friendlies have IR strobes on them so night vision will pick it up." Onyx stated over the comms. As they pushed up along the pathway, a group of armed guards were stationed by an entrance to the bungalows. Crimson stepped out and whistled "Yoohoo, boys!" Crimson said in a faux female voice, the guards raised their weapons but were shredded by suppressed gunfire from the shadows.

Their bodies hit the ground with a thud as blood changed the green grass to a sickly red, the mercenaries moved forward before Grullo and Nightshade grabbed the guards, they dragged the corpses and hid them behind a building out of view. The six mercenaries moved into the courtyard and stared at all the doors of the bungalows "Alright ladies, pick a door and have at it." Onyx said as they all moved to their own doors.

As Carmine approached his door, he heard whimpering and pleading coming from inside "Please, don't do this!" A female voice pleaded. Carmine felt a beast inside him roar as he slammed his fist into the door and unknowingly detonated a Supernova that sent the door flying inward. Carmine walked in and raised his rifle at a naked whale of a man who was positioned above a cowering young Faunus girl. "Burn in hell, you fat fuck." Carmine said before he shot the man between the eyes, blood and brain matter coated the walls as his gelatinous body hit the floor with a thud.

Carmine grabbed a blanket off the floor and approached the girl with it, "No please, don't hurt me." She begged, Carmine covered her with the blanket and backed up "I'm not here to hurt you, we're here to rescue you. You're gonna be alright." Carmine said as he knelt next to the bed to reassure her. The trembling girl nodded slowly as she got up but the blanket started to fall, Carmine looked away quickly as she wrapped it around herself.

"Heads up guys, looks like the guards are getting frisky and are on high alert." Keppel said through the comms. "What's your name?" Carmine asked the girl who was still shaking. "Celeste" The girl said. "Alright Celeste, stay behind me no matter what." Carmine instructed the girl as he searched the fat man's clothes, looting it of his scroll and lien. Carmine left the room with Celeste in tow as the others had done the same except for Nightshade who emerged from the room covered in blood with a young girl in tow.

"So… what happened?" Onyx asked, Nightshade shook his head. "That fucker was a fighter and tried to get my gun from me but I slammed the buttstock into his nose. He laughed and said he already had his fun before he gestured to blood on the bed and… I just lost it, I put my gun on my back and tackled him before I stabbed the fuck out of his chest and neck." Nightshade said as he wiped blood off his face, the girl offered her sheet to him but he shook his head. "Oh, this is Mari." Nightshade said as he cleaned his face of the blood.

"Alright boys, we'll take it from here. It's time to get loud." A voice said from the darkness, they looked in the direction of the voice and saw Titus, along with Grizz, Bubba, and Archimedes before a massive explosion erupted from the docks and shook the island. As the shockwave ripped across the island, the power blacked out and swallowed the island in darkness, a thunderous boom echoed through the sky as a 105mm shell screamed from the sky and hit a guard tower on the island and reduced it to a crater as 20mm rained down from above. An Oshkosh MTVR with a canvas cover backed up and opened the rear "Alright girls, load up and we'll get you out of here." Titus said as Bubba escorted the terrified girls and helped them onto the transport. Celeste turned around and looked at Carmine "Thank you so much." Celeste said before Bubba closed the back and slapped the side before the truck took off in the darkness.

"Guys, we got a problem. They're trying to flee." Keppel said as he buzzed in through the radio suddenly. "Alright, let's get to work. Seraph, fire at will. You too, Whisper." Onyx said before the group took off toward the main building. Multiple guards and Reapers ran out to engage them but were immediately cut down where they stood from a hail of 20mm that rained down from above.

Carmine ran ahead and kicked the door in before he opened fire, his rounds ripped through multiple guards where they stood and painted the wall in blood as he dashed through. "Seraph, where's Abdiel!?" Carmine yelled as he looked around, as he looked around the dark building; the sound of an acoustic guitar playing echoed from the darkness (the opening chords to 'The Regulator' by Clutch to be specific).

Carmine looked in the direction of the sound to see a man sitting in a chair playing a guitar casually "You want him, you go through me first." The man said before he slammed his pick down across the strings and caused an ear-piercing shriek to rip through the building and shattered the glass in the room. "So, you're Bast?" Carmine asked, the man smirked "Can't spell Bastard without Bast." Bast said as he slowly played his guitar. Carmine raised his rifle and unloaded at the guitarist but Bast strummed his guitar slightly and emitted a soundwave that deflected all the rounds.

Carmine quickly transformed his rifle into its blade form before he dashed forward and engaged the man. "Y'all go, I'll handle this fucker." Carmine yelled as he sliced downward at Bast but the man parried his strike. Onyx nodded before they took off after the others "Heads up to all Disciples and 184th, nobody leaves the island." Titus said as they ran outside to see a private helicopter take off into the sky.

"Who's onboard?" Titus asked, Aero closed his eyes and activated his semblance before he looked through a pair of binoculars at the chopper. "Looks like one man and the pilot." Aero said, Titus nodded "Sorry pilot. Fire." Titus commanded through the comms, they all watched as a rocket erupted from a SAM Launcher and chased the helicopter until both exploded in a fiery explosion that sent the fiery burning husk into the water and sunk below the surface.

Carmine leapt backwards as Bast swung his guitar at the rifleman's head, Carmine quickly transformed the weapon back to its SCAR form before he fired a few rounds that were blocked by the man's aura. Bast held his pick in the air as he charged his semblance, Carmine smirked 'Bingo' Carmine thought to himself as he transformed his weapon back to its blade form and he sliced upward through the strings of the guitar. He withdrew the MP7 and unloaded on Bast, the bullets riddled the man's body until his aura shattered and he was reduced to a panting, bleeding mess.

"Alright, alright. I submit." Bast said as he held his hand up in defeat. Carmine grabbed Bast by the throat and picked him up in the air "Where's. Abdiel?" Carmine asked as he tightened his grip on the man's throat. The man struggled to breathe as his feet flailed wildly in the air before Carmine dropped him to the ground, Bast inhaled deep as he started to cough wildly. "Basement. He's in the basement." Bast said, Carmine grabbed his rifle and picked Bast up by his throat again.

"Good, you're gonna tell him the coast is clear." Carmine said as he dragged him to an intercom on the wall and slammed his head into the wall before he pressed the button on the wall and pressed the barrel of his rifle to Bast's head. The guitarist pressed the intercom button again "Boss, it's Bast. The coast is clear, open up the door." Bast said, there was a momentary silence before a door buzzed and popped open down a staircase.

"I found Abdiel, going after him." Carmine said as he pressed his throat comms, he let go of the button and grabbed Bast by the neck again before he moved him downstairs. "Open it." Carmine said slowly, Bast reached for the handle and slowly opened the door. Carmine quickly moved out of the way as the barrel of a large rifle exploded and a shell hit Bast in the chest, the guitarist looked down at the round before he exploded into bits and chunks of flesh, blood, and sinew.

Carmine peaked inside and saw a woman with white hair holding a large cannon as she loaded a fresh shell into it. "Oh fuck, that's an anti-tank rifle… Oh fuck! That's an anti-tank rifle!" Carmine said as he came to the sudden realization of his current situation. Carmine dashed up the stairs as another explosion blew the door off the hinges, the white-haired woman strolled out of the dungeon with the recoilless rifle rested on her shoulder.

"You think you can waltz into my house and mess up our auction? You can die in a fire, whoever you are." The woman said as she leveled out the barrel of her recoilless rifle before a bipod extended from the bottom, she turned the rifle as Carmine ran toward a doorway.

"It's no use." She said as she pressed a button on the side, a 106mm rocket leapt from the barrel and impacted the wall in front of Carmine. The round exploded and ripped through the brick wall, Carmine passed through the debris as the others engaged armed guards and Reapers. "Guys! We got a situation!" Carmine yelled as he passed them, Onyx turned around as he watched the white-haired woman saunter out of the hole in the wall. "Whisper! Who is that!?" Onyx yelled toward the roof.

"That's Jezebeth! I suggest you run; she can change the effectiveness of dust." Phantom said through their earpieces. Grullo turned around and aimed at the woman before he opened fire at her, rounds spat out from the barrel of his LMG but the rounds seemed to just hit her and bounce off before they fell to the ground. "What the fuck?" Crimson, Nightshade, and Onyx asked out loud before they aimed their weapons at her and fired, the rounds again bounced off her body and hit the ground.

"My turn!" Jezebeth exclaimed as she loaded another shell into her recoilless rifle and fired at the group, the Wolves, and members of the 184th scurried to separate as the round hit the ground with a thunderous explosion. "Whisper, if you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them!" Onyx yelled into his throat comms. There was a momentary pause before Phantom responded, "There are three ways to take her out: Overwhelm her with suppressive fire, get up close with melee weapons, or use your semblances." Phantom explained.

"Why not all three at once." Crimson said as he dashed behind cover to avoid gunfire from a few Reapers. "It's a longshot, but it's all we got." Titus said as a few tanks rolled up from the beach. "Alright, everyone be sure to reload your weapons and prepare to fire. Hellfire Rain, send everything you have at this bitch." Onyx said into the intercom before he got a 'Roger' in return.

Carmine swapped magazines in his Scar and pulled back the side bolt on the rifle, Jezebeth looked around at the mercenaries that surrounded her before she laughed "Bring it on, bitches. I've been waiting for a challenge!" Jezebeth exclaimed before her recoilless rifle planted itself in the ground again but the barrel transformed into eight separate barrels.

Her red eyes started to glow brighter and her hair radiated a white aura around her as the mercenaries opened fire in her direction, 105mm rounds rained down from the clouds, followed by 40mm and 20mm rounds. Most of the rounds seemed to fall lifelessly at her feet as her body started to glow with an amalgamation of colors, Aero gazed down from the roof as he activated his semblance. He watched on as Jezebeth's body temperature seemed to be rising rapidly, "Guys, don't let up! I figured out how her semblance works! It's not that she's nullifying the dust rounds, she's absorbing the dust energy into her body and then firing it back out via her recoilless rifle with twice the power behind it." Aero explained as the tank barrels exploded and sent HE shells down range followed by sporadic gunfire from the coaxial machine guns.

Jezebeth's demeanor seemed to change as she started to radiate a bright light from her body, Carmine dashed over to Grullo and grabbed his attention "Alright, I'm gonna detonate this bitch but I need you to slow time around me to give me enough time to get out." Carmine said but Grullo shook his head "It only works for me." Grullo said as he fired down range.

Carmine pulled his weapons from his body and tossed them to the ground before he sprinted into the barrage of bullets that ripped through the air. Carmine checked his scroll to monitor his aura level, he noticed it was at 68% "Gods protect me, I love you Sapphire." Carmine said to himself as he clenched his fist and charged a Supernova. "Titan! Get out of there!" Onyx exclaimed as Carmine closed in rapidly, the rifleman drew his fist back before he sent it flying into the side of Jezebeth's face.

The Supernova detonated and sent Carmine flying backward into Grullo who caught the rifleman, Jezebeth flew into the side of the wall and fell to the ground as her body began to shake violently "No! Must. Redirect. Power." Jezebeth said as she tried to crawl toward her weapon but stopped when a stabbing pain shot through her leg. She looked back and saw her Tibia was broken in half and sticking out from her skin as blood squirted out of the compound fracture, Jezebeth dug her nails into the dirt as the power in her body became unbearable. "I failed you, Abdiel!" She exclaimed before the power within her reached critical mass and detonated in a brilliant explosion of yellows, reds, blues, greens, and pink but that was just her vaporized internal organs that sprayed into the air as other chunks of her rained down with a nauseating 'splat' sound.

"Get up, you're alright." Grullo said as he pulled Carmine to his feet. "Thanks, Juggernaut." Carmine said as he picked his weapons up off the ground and placed them back into their holsters "You good, bro?" Onyx asked as he patted his brother on the back, Carmine stood up and checked his aura level "Fuck, I'm at critical." Carmine said before he showed Onyx his scroll that flashed a '15%' warning in red. "Shit. Medic!" Onyx yelled as Carmine limped over to where the others stood.

As he joined the group, Diamond came walking over to the group of mercenaries "Someone call for aid?" She asked before the entire group pointed at Carmine "Yeah, the human detonator here." Grullo said before he adjusted his molle vest and rested his M240b on his shoulder. "I swear, you keep running headfirst into battle like that and you're gonna get yourself killed." Diamond said as she projected her aura into Carmine's battered body. She watched closely as his aura levels rose steadily on his scroll until he was at '31%'. Diamond almost collapsed as she stumbled slightly into Phantom's arms "Easy there, you alright?" Phantom asked as she stood up slowly.

"Uhh, yeah. Thank you." Diamond said as she blushed lightly and moved away to tend to the others. "Alright ladies! Take a breather and reload your weapons, we still got a rat bastard to go after." Duke said as he held an MK14 Mod 0 EBR with the barrel pointed toward the ground. "We captured almost all of the participants, well, the ones who didn't fight or try to run." One of the Disciples said as the mercenaries shifted their gaze to a few scattered bodies face down in the grass.

"Take their scrolls, any lien they have, and then feed them to the sharks." Titus said as Carmine fished a scroll from his pocket "Hey Cipher, catch." Carmine said before he tossed the scroll to the archer. "Grizz, laptop!" Aero said as he walked over to an ARTEC Boxer that idled slowly before the engine cut off. Aero climbed onto the roof and sat down with his legs crossed as Grizz handed him a laptop, Aero plugged the scroll into the laptop before he got to work breaking the encryption. "These idiots think that a simple biometrics scanner will stop me, bitch please." Aero said before he tapped 'enter' and his screen flooded with information. "Alright, I'm in. Titan, this scroll belonged to a billionaire who worked for Merlot Industries." Aero said as he read through the information.

"Who the fuck is that?" Carmine asked confused. Aero smiled "Our next lead to find Cerberus." Aero said before he looked back down at the laptop. "Sounds good, see what you can find. As for the rest of you, move out." Titus said before the mercenaries moved inland toward the mansion. "Archimedes, get to the second floor." Titus ordered; Archimedes nodded before he sprinted toward the building. He walked up to the wall and placed his hands on the wall before he slowly climbed up the wall with no assistance.

"Faunus?" Crimson asked, Titus chuckled "Spider." Titus said as they watched Archimedes climb up the wall and burst through a window. The island fell silent before the sound of electricity echoed from the building followed by a flash of light and blood curdling screaming. "Guess he found one." Grizz said before the charred remains of a Reaper flew out the window and slammed into the ground with a thud.

"Well, we can't let him have all the fun. Let's Go!" Duke said before he sprinted into the fray of gunfire that came from the second-floor windows, the other mercenaries followed suit and stormed into the mansion as one of the tanks fired and blew the gunners nest to pieces on the second floor. The Wolves dashed down the stairs and entered the destroyed basement, the muffled sound of gunfire came from above as the crept slowly into the dark basement. One by one, they pulled down their optics and illuminated the darkness in a dark green that made their IR lasers visible. They slowly moved down the cold hall until they came up to a door, Grullo was about to kick the door in but Keppel stopped him "Wait, look." Keppel said before he gestured to the hinges of the door.

"Whoever built this place, did it in a hurry." Keppel said as he used his Ka-Bar to push the pins out of the hinge on the door as Grullo held it tightly, as he removed the last pin; the door shook loose and allowed Grullo to move it out of the way. Grullo was about to move the door but found that it was tense, but Crimson pulled his Knife out and traced the wire until he found a grenade bouquet hanging from the roof.

"Child's play." Crimson said as he cut the wire and looped it back through the pins to make a grenade necklace. Nightshade pulled his knife out and cut the wire on the grenade necklace before he pocketed the grenades "No?" Crimson asked, Nightshade shook his head "You're a fucking idiot." Nightshade said with a chuckle. "Come on, get serious." Carmine said as he attempted to look through his optics but saw only darkness.

"Shit guys, I'm blind. That explosion took out my optics." Carmine said as he disconnected them from his helmet and placed them in his bag, Keppel disconnected his own and handed them to the rifleman "I can see in the dark already, take mine." The marksman said, Carmine chuckled "You're a lifesaver, Seraph." Carmine said as he connected the new optics to his helmet and pulled them down to activate them. "So, Seraph, can you see our IR strobes or is it like low light vision?" Carmine asked the sniper as they slowly moved down the hall.

"Nah, it's more like I can see everything perfectly so I can't see your IR strobes but I can everything with perfect detail." Keppel explained as they slowly cleared the area. "Shut up, listen." Onyx said as he held his fist up in the air, the group got quiet as they listened to the silence until they heard whispering.

"You gotta get me out of here, Bast and Jezebeth are dead and they're down the hall. What do you mean I'm on my own, this was your plan!" A man yelled in a hushed tone. "Whisper, should we know anything about Abdiel?" Carmine asked through the comms as they closed in on the door. "His semblance is called 'Domino', he can link with someone and whatever happens to him, happens to them to a lesser extent." Phantom explained, Carmine shuddered "Well, that's just perfect. I might as well kick my own ass." Carmine stated before he kicked the door in, the door collapsed to the ground before they ran into the room.

"Abdiel! Surrender, we have you surrounded!" Onyx yelled as the Wolves raised their weapons at the man, he laughed as he stood up slowly and clapped sarcastically. "Well congradu-fucking-lations, ya fuck sticks. You can free these girls all you want, but you can't undo all the 'fun' we had with them." Abdiel said as the lights in the room shot to life, the Wolves deactivated their optics before the light hit their eyes to avoid being blinded.

The mercenaries looked around the room and saw multiple horrors of young girls chained to the wall or floor with helpless, defeated looks that have taken over their faces. "You son of a bitch!" Carmine exclaimed before he took off in a dead sprint and threw a right cross that struck Abdiel on the left side of his face, Abdiel reached up placed his hand on the rifleman's chest before his eyes flashed a sinister yellow. Carmine followed it up with an uppercut to the auctioneer's jaw, as his punch landed; Carmine grabbed his own jaw in pain "Ahh fuck!" Carmine exclaimed before he shook it off and resumed the ass kicking seminar.

The rifleman picked the man up off the ground before he threw him across the room into a set of steel bars, Carmine immediately grabbed his own face in agony as blood started to seep from his lips. Carmine quickly unfastened his helmet and tossed it onto a table followed by the balaclava, Carmine spat out some blood as he readied himself again "You had enough, Abdiel?" Carmine asked, Abdiel chuckled "My mom hit me harder than you." Abdiel said as he pushed himself off the ground.

As Carmine readied himself to throw the next punch, they heard the speakers in the roof buzz before the sound of metal music blared through them "We got you Titan, kick his ass!" Titus said as the claps of gunfire could be heard in the background. Carmine grinned "Let the fun begin." Carmine stated before he ran full speed at Abdiel and drove his knee into the auctioneer's gut, Carmine grunted as the pain ripped through his abdomen.

 **Enemies – Shinedown**

 **Listen up, there's not a moment to spare. It's quite a drop from the top, so how you feeling down there? It's a cold, cruel, harsh reality, caught stuck here with your enemies**

Carmine drew his leg back before he drove it square into Abdiel's chest and sent the man flying into the wall, the sound of bricks breaking and hitting the concrete echoed as the music blared from the roof.

 **Who do you think you are, tearing us all apart? Where did you think you could go? 'Cause everyone already knows it's twenty to one, yeah, so you better run.**

 **You got the world on its knees; you're taking all that you please. You want more (you want more) but you'll get nothing from me. You're like the burden we bear, you're all the hate that we share. You want more (you want more) but you'll get nothing from me but enemies. Enemies!**

Carmine grabbed his own chest as the pain rippled through his body, he shook his head as he corrected his stance and continued onward. Abdiel stumbled away from the wall as he tried to flee but Crimson moved in front of him, the Reaper turned around to run but came face to face with a pissed off Carmine who lifted him off the ground before immediately slamming him down into the concrete. The others watched as a laceration formed on the side of Carmine's head and blood seeped from the wound.

 **You started something that you just couldn't stop, you turned the ones that you love into the angriest mob and their one last wish is that you pay for it and there's no way you're getting out of this.**

 **Who do you think you are, tearing us all apart? Where did you think you could go? 'Cause everyone already knows it's twenty to one, yeah, so you better run.**

 **You got the world on its knees; you're taking all that you please. You want more (you want more) but you'll get nothing from me. You're like the burden we bear, you're all the hate that we share. You want more (you want more) but you'll get nothing from me but enemies. Enemies! Enemies!**

Onyx opened his scroll and gauged Carmine's aura levels "Fuck, he's at 22%. If he keeps this up, we'll be burying him." Onyx said as they watched his aura level flinch with each blow he landed on the bloody auctioneer. "Titan! That's enough!" Onyx yelled but Carmine didn't flinch.

"No, this fucker has done enough. He needs to die!" Carmine exclaimed as he withdrew his MP7 and pointed it at the bloodied Reaper. Abdiel cackled as blood leaked from his mouth as he smiled with missing teeth "Yes, do it. Kill me, feed the beast!" Abdiel said as Carmine struggled to stand.

 **Where did you think you could go? 'Cause everyone already knows It's twenty to one yeah, so you better run.**

 **You've got the world on its knees, you've taken all that you please, you want more (you want more) but you'll get nothing from me. You're like the burden we bear, you're all the hate that we share, you want more (you want more) but you'll get nothing from me (but enemies)**

As Carmine's finger began to squeeze the trigger, the world around him seemed to fall away as he found himself surrounded by darkness and illuminated by moonlight. "What the fuck!?" Carmine asked himself as he looked around in circles until his eyes stopped on Onyx who stood across from him. "I'm sorry, I promised you I wouldn't use my semblance on you, but… I had to; I had no choice. If you had pulled the trigger, you would have died also and you can't just leave Sapphire like that. The girl is head-over-heels in love with you and what do I say? 'Oh, sorry Sapphire, we failed to protect him.' Fuck no, you go home to her!" Onyx exclaimed.

"What happens now?" Carmine asked in a solemn voice, Onyx shook his head "I instructed Crimson and Nightshade to get Abdiel out of here and to release the bind on you. As for you, I want you to take some time off." Onyx stated, the last words hit Carmine hard "Time off? You can't be serious?! We are at war! We are facing a possible genocide unlike ever seen before, we have no time to rest!" Carmine exclaimed as he became enraged.

"Carmine! Look at yourself! When was the last time you actually ate something?!" Onyx said before Carmine was reduced to just his boxers as a mirror formed in front of him. Carmine looked at his body and saw that some of his muscles had atrophied and he had lost weight. "This need to eliminate the Reapers has consumed you, you can't do this alone. You can't push yourself to the edge and expect to keep sane, why do you try to do this by yourself?!" Onyx yelled; Carmine shook his head as the visions of Eastview came flooding back. The images surrounded the brothers as they played out like a movie, the miniguns on the mammoth spinning up and shredding the citizens, the missile pods launching salvos that murdered dozens, all while Carmine hopelessly tried to stop the vehicle of death.

The images disappeared as Onyx was stunned silent and Carmine shook his head as he just kept saying "I'm sorry." Repeatedly. Onyx grabbed his brother and pulled him into a bearhug before the rifleman broke down in his older brother's arms "You did everything you could, there's no way you could have stopped it. We had no idea of the layout of the bunker, so they got the jump on us." Onyx said as he consoled his younger brother.

The dark room dematerialized as Onyx let go of Carmine's head, the rifleman collapsed to the ground as Onyx stumbled backwards before Keppel caught him and helped him to the floor. "Is he gonna be alright?" Grullo asked as he picked the rifleman up off the floor, Onyx nodded weakly as Abdiel struggled to break free from Crimson and Nightshade who held him tightly, he tried to speak but Crimson had already gagged him with his own sock.

As they recuperated, the 184th and the Devil's Disciples came running into the basement "Alright boys, the cavalry is here…" Titus started to say before trailed off as he saw the carnage. "What the hell happened here?" Titus asked confused, Crimson shook his head "Titan lost it, but because of this asshole's semblance, whatever happens to him happens to whoever he marks with a little glyph to a lesser extent. He marked Titan, so he was basically kicking his own ass as well as this douchebag's ass." Crimson explained.

"Oh god. Grizz, get this piece of shit out of here. Bubba, do what you can." Titus said as the mercenaries got to work, Grullo laid Carmine down on the floor before Bubba projected his semblance into the rifleman while the Disciples busted open the locked cells that lined the wall. Grullo held his scroll open for Bubba to gauge Carmine's aura as he continued to project his semblance into Carmine's body. "Crimson, grab the stretcher from my bag and get it unfolded." Bubba said as he Carmine's aura slowly rose.

"What happened to callsigns?" Crimson asked as he reached into Bubba's bag, Bubba looked at the infantryman with fire in his eyes. "Fuck callsigns, that was when we were infiltrating. I think they know who it is that interrupted their party." Bubba said as Crimson sat the stretcher down on the ground. Grullo rolled the rifleman over and pulled his bag off the man before they placed him on the stretcher, Bubba and Grullo grabbed the handles of the stretcher before they lifted it off the ground. Nightshade grabbed Carmine's bag and his weapons while Crimson picked up the balaclava and the helmet off the table.

Onyx slowly stood up and grabbed his gear off the ground as Bubba and Grullo carried Carmine out of the basement prison, the mercenaries walked out into the night air as three Ospreys flew overhead and landed in the open fields. Bubba and Grullo rushed ahead as the ramp lowered on one of the VTOL before they sat the stretcher down. The other Wolves boarded the same VTOL as the other mercenaries loaded their prisoners onto the other awaiting Ospreys.

Carmine slowly opened his eyes before he tried to sit up but Grullo forced him back down, the heavy armor was reloaded onto the LCACs before they reflated and pulled off the beach. The Ospreys took off into the night sky as the LCACs sailed through the water under the cover of night. Titus's voice came across the comms "Hey, let Carmine sit up; he's gonna want to see this." Titus said as the back ramp opened, the VTOL came to stop and hovered in the air with the island still visible in the distance. Grullo and Bubba helped Carmine sit up, his eyes focused as the last VTOL took off into the sky, "Three… Two… One… contact!" Titus said over the comms before a massive explosion ripped through the side of the mansion that was followed by other explosions that ripped the compound to pieces. "But we can't let anything be left standing so, we borrowed something from the base in Vacuo." Bubba said as a bright light screamed through the sky as it flew over the island and adjusted its flight course ninety degrees down into the middle of the compound.

The missile hit the island and engulfed the area in a bright flash of light before a wall of fire and destruction swallowed the island as a mushroom cloud filled the night sky. Dust crystals exploded in the vortex of chaos, lightning dust crystals exploded and hit the island with arches of electricity as fire dust crystals exploded and scorched the ground and enveloped anything that stood in its way, "Good riddance." Carmine said as he laid back down on the steel floor.

Carmine closed his eyes as he slipped into unconsciousness, when he opened his eyes again, he found himself in his bed as he stared at the roof. Carmine tried to get out of bed but found his body too weak to move "You gotta rest, my Titan. Finally, I have you to myself for a while." Sapphire said as she pressed her naked body up against his own, Carmine grunted as he moved slightly and wrapped his arms around her curvaceous body. "Sapphire, I want you to know that I will always protect you. I will destroy anyone who tries to harm you." Carmine said before he kissed her on the neck.

"No, you won't, you can't even protect yourself." Sapphire said, Carmine sat up slightly and rolled her over "What did you say?" Carmine asked before he rolled her body over and her head rocked to the side lifelessly with her throat slit.

Carmine shot awake in a cold sweat before he gripped the side of his head "Babe, what's wrong?" Sapphire asked concerned, Carmine shook his head as he scurried out of the bed "I don't know what you are." Carmine said before he threw the door open and ran out but was immediately knocked out by Grullo who shook his head afterward. "Sapphire, whatever he said, that wasn't him. It was Loki, she's in his head." Phantom said as they picked up Carmine's unconscious body and carried him to a chair.

They sat Carmine's unconscious body down in the chair and strapped his arms and legs down tightly, Onyx walked up behind Carmine as he flexed his fingers. Sapphire pulled on a pair of boy shorts and Carmine's hoodie as she joined them, Harlequin walked up behind her and pulled her aside. "Her name is Opal Mai and her semblance allows her to project a mirror image of herself anywhere within a mile, but also, she can leave a 'ghost' in her victims psyche." Harley explained as Onyx grabbed the sides of Carmine's head and closed his eyes.

 _ ***Inside Carmine's mind***_

"Alright bitch! Get the fuck out of my brother's head!" Onyx yelled as he manifested his AK into his hands. As Onyx walked down a desolate hall, Carmine walked out of a room but seemed off; when he Carmine saw Onyx he screamed and hid behind a pillar "W-who are you?" The false Carmine asked, Onyx tilted his head "Carmine, it's me, Onyx. Your brother." Onyx said, the false Carmine slowly walked out from behind the pillar.

"Wow, you're scary looking." The false Carmine said, Onyx chuckled "That's ironic, the White Fang refer to you as 'the devil incarnate'." Onyx said with a chuckle, but the false Carmine stayed silent "I would never hurt anyone." The false Carmine said in a weak tone. Onyx tilted his head again "Say, what's your name?" Onyx asked the timid man, the false Carmine looked at Onyx with a small glint of happiness. "Oh, my name is Fear. I'm your brother's emotion." Fear explained, Onyx seemed surprised. "Wait, you're self-aware that you're nothing more than an emotion, a chemical reaction?" Onyx asked, Fear nodded back before they continued down the hall. The duo continued down the hall until they came upon another false Carmine who was dancing around and singing.

"Is that joy or happiness?" Onyx asked, Fear nodded "Hey Joy! How are you!?" Onyx asked, Joy spun around and stared at the man "I am doing FANTASTIC!" Joy exclaimed as fireworks exploded behind him. "JOY I SWEAR TO GOD, I WILL RIP YOUR HEAD OFF AND SHOVE IT UP YOUR ASS!" A demonic voice yelled as it shook the chamber. "And who is that?" Onyx asked, Fear looked at Onyx concerned "That's Rage, the second strongest of us all." Fear said as a false Carmine walked out of the darkness with flames burning along his body and devil horns protruding from his head.

"So, you're rage?" Onyx asked, the emotion bowed as a pointy tail swished around behind him "Anger H. Rage at your service." Rage said as he composed himself properly, Joy danced around and hummed happily, Anger rolled his eyes "Sorry for the fairy over there. What can I do for you? We gotta kill someone, because I'll get Bloodlust." Anger said, Onyx looked back at the false Carmine with concern.

"And where is Bloodlust?" Onyx asked, the false Carmine smirked as sharp teeth shown from his mouth before blood seeped from his teeth and his eyes "You're looking at him." Rage said as a set of wings sprouted from his back but disappeared as Anger regained his composure.

"Right… I'm looking for someone, a woman with silver hair." Onyx said, Fear coward behind Joy "The nasty lady. The one who split us up, she's after the consciousness but Rage has kept her at bay." Fear explained, Rage shook his head "I can't land a hit on her." Rage said as long claws grew from his fingertips and quickly retracted.

"Show me where she's at." Onyx said, Rage wrapped his arms around Onyx before they were swallowed by a column of fire, leaving Joy and Fear alone. "Bye new friend!" Joy exclaimed as he tossed glitter into the air.

The column of fire appeared again and dissipated quickly as Onyx and Rage stood next to each other. It was silent as they stared down a hall until the sound of music came from behind them "Who's that?" Onyx asked, Rage chuckled "The emotion stronger than me. Love." Rage said as he opened a door to reveal a false Carmine at a microphone stand singing while he played an acoustic guitar. A portrait of Sapphire hung on the wall behind him along with snapshots of her smiling, holding his hand, and snuggled up next to him.

 **Far Away – Nickelback**

 **This time, this place**

 **Misused, mistakes.**

 **Too long, too late,**

 **Who was I to make you wait?**

 **Just one chance, just one breath,**

 **Just in case there's just one left.**

' **Cause you know.**

 **You know, you know!**

 **I love you,**

 **I loved you all along and I miss you.**

 **Been far away for far too long,**

 **I keep dreaming you'll be with me**

 **and you'll never go**

 **Stop breathing**

 **If I don't see you anymore**

"Man, he really does love her." Onyx said as he watched the false Carmine sing out to an empty crowd. "Right, the bad lady is this way." Rage said as he led Onyx down a corridor to a dark corner, as they continued down the hall, the sound of scraping and banging could be heard from the hall. Onyx rounded the corner and found a silver haired woman trying to break through a door.

"Hey bitch, I brought backup this time." Rage said, Loki laughed before her eyes rested on Onyx "Oh fuck." Loki said before Onyx raised his rifle and opened fire, the rounds screamed through the air before they ripped through Loki's body. Her body collapsed to the ground before it simply disappeared.

"Wow, that was easier than I thought." Onyx said, Rage chuckled "Yeah, we're emotions. We can't do shit; we just pilot the mech." Rage said before he faded into nothingness. The corridor shifted until he was standing where he started except the real Carmine stood across from him.

"Onyx, what the fuck?" Carmine asked confused, Onyx shook his head "Loki was in your head, like a ghost fragment in your head. I killed her fragment so you should be good." Onyx explained, Carmine reached up to the back of his head and pulled off a metallic spider that was sparking.

"Thanks brother, I appreciate it. Love ya, man." Carmine said before he hugged his older brother, Onyx smiled as he closed his eyes and released himself from his brother's psyche. Onyx stumbled backward into the sofa as Carmine's head dropped unconsciously "How bad was it? You were in there for a while." Crimson asked, Onyx shook his head "Bad, his emotions were their own separate entities instead of being an entire unit. I found the fragment and killed it dead." Onyx said as he tried to stay awake.

Carmine regained consciousness five minutes later and thrashed about as he tried to get the cuffs off his body, Crimson and Nightshade took the cuffs off the rifleman before he stood up but lost his balanced momentarily. "I'm good, I just need to go to bed." Carmine said as he slowly walked to his room and climbed into bed weakly. "Go, he needs you now more than ever." Harlequin said as she gave Sapphire a light shove, the blue-eyed goddess smiled and moved the like bolt of lightning as she disappeared into his room and locked the door behind her.

Sapphire discarded her clothing quickly and climbed back into bed next to Carmine, she pressed her body up against his as she melted from his warmth. "I love you, Sapphire." Carmine said as he wrapped his arms around her nude frame and pulled her body into his. "I love you, my Titan. My guardian, my everything." Sapphire said before she kissed him on the lips. "I will always protect you, no matter what. I will keep you safe and destroy anyone who tried to harm you." Carmine said as he kept one eye open.

"Mmm, I know you will. You're my Titan, my guardian." Sapphire said as she pushed her ass into his pelvis. "Now, you gonna fuck me or what?" Sapphire asked as she handed him a wrapped condom.

 **A/N: Well, this took a little longer than I expected it to take. I finished up with my last class so I should be able to write more, but I also have to work more so hopefully I'll be able to balance to two again. Anyway, Remember to Favorite, Follow, and** **Leave a Review** **, and as always, this is Nightmare 6-4, signing off.**


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